Ichi no tani futaba gunki: Bandō Mitsugorō III as Kumagai jirō Naozane and Segawa Kikunojō V as Wife Sagami
Kuniyasu
Description
Subject Matter:
The play Ichinotani futaba gunki is a part of the Heike cycle of plays based on the war between the Taira and Minamoto clans at the end of the twelfth century. This play was first performed as a bunraku (puppet) play before being adapted for kabuki.
Actor Bandō Mitsugorō was born in 1775. He was active in kabuki from the time he was a child until his death in 1832. He was known for his roles as lead protagonist (tachiyaku) in period and contemporary plays.
The lineage of actor Segawa Kikunojō was known for their beautiful faces and figures. There is a famous anecdote for the fifth generation Kikunojō: in the middle of a performance, a country bumpkin, mesmerized by his feminine beauty, shouted out loud and asked if he had man’s balls.
Physical Description:
This is a print of a man and a woman. The man stands in front, two swords at his side, holding out a fan in his right hand. He wears a green and yellow patterned jacket and a short blue robe. The fan is black with a red circle. The woman stands behind him, looking slightly downward. She holds a floral patterned jacket around her shoulders. Her robe is orange with a black sash. There are lines of calligraphy along the top of the print.
Inscriptions: Artist’s signature: Kuniyasu ga; Publisher’s seal: Matsugen; Censor’s seal: Kiwame; Kumagai jirō Naozane, Bandō Mitsugorō; Nyōbō Sagami, Segawa Kikunojō
Usage Rights:
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