Jūnikagetsu [The Twelve Months]

US$1,280.00

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Jūnikagetsu [The Twelve Months]

Toyohara, Kunichika [illustrated by].

Kyōbashi, [Tōkyō]: Kamiyama Seishichi, Meiji 17 [1884].

A complete set of three large-format nishiki-e prints, each divided into four scenes depicting a leading kabuki actor in the guise of a child engaged in a seasonal pastime. Together, the three prints represent the twelve months of the year. The conceit is fascinating: although the figures have the faces and physiques of adult actors, their scalps are rendered in blue, the conventional ukiyo-e device for indicating children. Each is identified by the actor's stage name alongside a child-like name, several of which appear to echo the actors' own names. Among those represented are Nakamura Fukusuke as Ofuku, Suketakaya Takasuke as Otaka, Ichikawa Kuzō as Yoshimatsu, Bandō Kakitsu as Oie, and Nakamura Shikan as Komakichi. Rather than depicting specific kabuki performances, the series seems to imagine these famous actors themselves as children, engaged in the familiar activities and pastimes of the Japanese year. An unusual combination of kabuki actor portraiture and seasonal childhood imagery.

Three sheets, each woodblock-printed on one side, complete. Light trimming and wear to extremities. Each sheet measures approximately 36 x 24 cm. 

Jūnikagetsu [The Twelve Months]
Price: $1,280.00 (USD)