Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) Possibly, Nakamura Shikan as Okawa Tomoemon, 1871. Oban.
Click here for a full-size image.
The prevailing wisdom is that this print depicts the actor, Nakamura Shikan as Okawa Tomoemon. The character is legendary and is from a play that retells the story of the young samurai who rescues important documents from the burning palace of his daimyo, Lord Hosokawa. The loyal Okawa rushed back into the flames to retrieve the documents, only to discover that escape was impossible. To save the papers, he commits suicide by disembowelling himself, and thrusting the documents into his belly in the hope that his body would prevent them from burning. After the fire, his charred body was recovered with the bloodstained scrolls intact, thus saving his master's fortunes.
This is an unusual representation of the actor in that part, pictured here in the dressing room. The flame wig is surely mismatched for the role, since not only the actor in this costume but also the decoration of peonies refers to a wholly different role as the cub of the lion dancer in a famous piece of theatre that shows a family of lions dancing on a bridge. The confusion occurs I think because of the coincidence of names which have become mixed up at this distance of time.
In the various presentations of the tragic hero, Okawa Tomoemon consumed by flames, the actors in character wear conventional period costume. The confusion arises because there was a very famous actor whose name, Ōtani Tomoemon is remarkably similar. The Kunichika lion print shows that actor - Tomoemon - performing exactly the same role with lion wig and peonies only a few years before this dressing room mirror picture. Intriguing, and I am privately convinced, despite museum attributions to the contrary that this is a portrait of the actor Ōtani Tomoemon, not that of Shikan IV.
Putting that confusion aside, this is a great mirror print… fans of kabuki especially liked "behind the scenes" prints. The oval shape, in fact, is a polished bronze mirror with cloth handles to protect the surface. The background, as we have noted, is of peonies that form part of the traditional lion dance.
Here is the song that accompanies the lion/peony dance:
The time has come for the lions / to dance to ancient tunes!
The time has come for the lions / to dance to ancient tunes!
The cups of the peony blooms / now overflow with fragrance!
Exhibiting their massive strength, / here the lion head!
Beat the drums! Let music play / The peony's scent! The peony's scent!
The flowers' golden stamens / emerge from within.
Sporting among the blossoms, / tumbling among the branches,
Surely nothing can surpass / the lions' fierce majesty.
Even among the trees and grasses / there are none that will not bow.
Long may their dance continue, / a thousand autumns!
Long may their dance continue, / a thousand autumns!
(James R. Brandon & Samuel L. Leiter, Kabuki Plays on Stage: Restoration and Reform, 1872-1905, University of Hawaii Press, 2003. p. 53-53)
This is a great early Kunichika. The colour and impression are very good indeed. The print is in pristine condition, excellent quality of printing throughout, with embossing to the collar and very clean sharp block cutting. Japanese album backing. Overall, fine.
24 x 35 cm.
