Page 102 - September 21 2021 Important Japanese Art Christie's NYC

116 TOSHUSAI SHARAKU (ACT. 1794-95)

The actor Sakata Hangoro III as

the Villain Fujikawa Mizuemon
in the kabuki play The Iris Soga

of the Bunroku Era (Hana-ayame
Bunroku Soga)

Woodblock print with dark silver mica ground,
signed Toshusai Sharaku ga, published by
Tsutaya Juzaburo (Koshodo), 5th month 1794
Vertical oban: 14¡ x 9√ in. (36.5 x 25.1 cm.)

$160,000-180,000

Sharaku captures a moment in the drama when the corrupt among them Utamaro, Choki, Kitao Masanobu and Kiyonaga.
Mizuemon is in the process of rolling up his sleeves to use his The seal of a clump of ivy under Mount Fuji in the lower left of
sword against one of three sons avenging the death of their father, this image refers to the publisher’s establishment, Tsutaya, House
who was killed by Mizuemon. His glare and grimace suggest he of the Ivy. Tsutaya composed poetry with other sophisticates
will be the victor. The play by Matsui Yusuke is a complicated in the Yoshiwara Circle under the name Tsuta no Karamaru,
mix of circumstances surrounding a real-life 1701 murder and Entwined in the Ivy.
the twelfth-century revenge story of the Soga brothers, as the
Tsutaya’s collaboration with Sharaku took place in ten months
play title suggests. In black ink in the upper right and to the
in 1794, resulting in twenty-eight actor close-ups of astonishing
right of the signature in the lower left an owner of the print has
boldness and invention. They are close-ups in the modern
inscribed the actor’s name and cyclical date corresponding to the
sense, using a raised eyebrow, a furrowed brow, single prop or
performance of the play at the Miyako Theater, Edo, in the fifth
simple gesture to snap the scene. Debate continues on whether
lunar month of 1794. The mystery of who Sharaku was and why
the existence of so few of the actor likenesses is because they
his brilliant actor images span only one year remains unsolved.
were unpopular for their frankness or whether Tsutaya found
Sakata Hangoro (1756–1795) was a specialist in villain and their production too expensive. A reasonable theory proposed
tough-guy roles. While easily identified from this likeness, by Asano Shugo is that Tsutaya only released small editions
his personal crest adorns the sleeves of his robe. The ground on account of their fine printing, coloring and embellishments
of thick, dark mica is indicative of luxury production by the in the manner of deluxe commissions of surimono and poetry
publisher, Tsutaya Juzaburo, who was the promoter genius albums. At present, under fifty prints of the edition of Hangoro
behind so many great artists of the late eighteenth century, as Mizuemon are known.