Memorial Portrait of the Actor Nakamura Tamashichi

Enjaku 猿雀 Japanese

Not on view

By convention, “death prints” (shini-e) commemorating the passing of an actor usually show him garbed in light blue court robes. Nakamura Tamashichi (1836–1860) was an Osaka actor of great promise, whose untimely death at the age of twenty-four resulted in an outpouring of grief by Kabuki fans. Several memorial prints were issued, both by anonymous amateur artists as well as deluxe prints exhibiting the finest printing techniques, as this example by Enjaku.

Memorial Portrait of the Actor Nakamura Tamashichi, Enjaku 猿雀 (Japanese, active ca.  1850–70), Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical chūban, Japan

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