Print Ukiyoe Kabuki Theater Japan

This print was made by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864) in 1858. It depicts two kabuki actors playing their respective roles in a play Kurotegumi Sukeroku plays in three acts. This play was performed in the third lunar month of 1858 at the Ichimuraza Theater in Edo (formerly Tokyo).

The two actors featured in the print are Kawarasaki Gonjûrô I (河原崎権十郎) who later became Ichikawa Danjuro IX, he plays Ushiwaka Denji who is the man in love with the courtesan Shinzo Shiratama played by Nakamura Kamenojô I 中村歌女之丞. They plan to leave Edo together. This print is the beginning of this play in Act I showing the two lovers together.

Utagawa Toyokuni III, Kunisada I (1786-1865) (三代歌川豊国) was one of the most popular ukiyoe painters of the 19th century and also one of the most prolific and financially successful, ahead of Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige. Utagawa Kunisada was born in Edo in 1786. His father, who died the following year, was an amateur poet of little repute. He was accepted around 1800 as an apprentice to one of the greatest masters of woodblock drawing, Toyokuni. He began by producing prints of actors, Bijin-ga, sumo-e, landscapes and warriors. He also produced a large number of shunga (erotic prints). He is said to have produced over 20,000 prints. In 1844-1845, Kunisada Utagawa changed his stage name to the name of his teacher, Toyokuni, and thus became Toyokuni III. He died in Edo after training several students such as Toyohara Kunichika 豊原 国周 and Utagawa Kunisada II 歌川 国貞.