Original woodblock print vertical diptych – Utagawa Kunisada III (1848-1920)(Utagawa kunimasa Ⅳ)-“Ōtomonokuronushi”大伴黒主 Japan – 1916(Taisho 5 period)June 

Description

Original woodblock print vertical diptych – Utagawa Kunisada III (1848-1920)(Utagawa kunimasa Ⅳ)-“Ōtomonokuronushi”大伴黒主 Japan – 1916(Taisho 5 period)June

This drawn Kabuki character  Ōtomonokuronushi大伴黒主

The signature says “Toyosai 豊斎”.

Machine printing has developed rapidly since the 30th year of the Meiji era. As a result, woodblock prints have declined sharply.
This work is a woodblock print of the Taisho 5 period after the Meiji period.
It’s a small work, so I think it was made to commemorate the Kabuki performance.

A disciple of the 3rd generation Utagawa Kunisada and the 4th generation Utagawa Kunisada. His artname is Takeuchi (his mother), his childhood name is Asataro, and his first name is Eihisa. He used the artname Baidou(梅堂), Baichoro(梅朝楼), Kochoro(香朝楼), Ichijusai(一寿斎), Baidouhousai(梅堂豊斎),and Hosai(芳斎). Born in Nihonbashi, Edo (currently Tokyo’s 23 wards). His father is Eijiro Osakaya大阪屋栄次郎 (Sadayama Kineya), and his mother is Sato Takeuchi. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Tomiyoshicho, Fukagawa. The third generation Kunisada refers to his mother’s surname. In 1858, he was introduced to his father’s friend Kunimaro Utagawa’s father at the age of 11 and became a disciple of the third generation Toyokuni. Utagawa Kunimasa). After the death of the third generation Kunisada, he studied painting with the second generation Kunisada Utagawa (fourth generation Kunisada). He inherited the name of Kunisada as the third generation in 1889, and first art named Kochoro. Furthermore, after 1891, he was named Hosai. He mainly painted civilization and actors, and was good at caricatures of the first Sadanji Ichikawa. He also draws many genre paintings.

A backing paper is attached to the woodblock print to increase its strength.