Actors Sawamura Sōjūrō III, Nakayama Kojūrō VI, Ōtani Hiroji III and Ichikawa Yaozō III

http://data.europeana.eu/agent/161177 · 1785

Preparatory drawing for woodblock print of actors Sawamura Sōjūrō III, Nakayama Kojūrō VI, Ōtani Hiroji III and Ichikawa Yaozō III by Torii Kiyonaga, drawn in ink on paper in Japan in 1785. Preparatory drawing (shita-e) for ōban format print. Dated to 1785, this image is drawn from the special season-opening ('kaomise') performance of 'Yukimotsutake furisode Genji' at the Nakamura Theatre in Edo. The print shows Sawamura Sōjūrō III performing as Taira no Shigemori, Nakayama Kojūrō VI as Kiheiji, Ōtani Hiroji III as Miura Arajiro, and Ichikawa Yaozō III as Akugenta Yoshihira. Examples of the finished print can be found in the collections of Minneapolis Institute of Art (no. 74.1.128) and the Art Institute of Chicago (no. 1934.254).