The Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III (Shikan) as Ishikawa Goemon

Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 Japanese

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This dynamic portrait by the Osaka-based artist Shunkōsai Hokushū captures the celebrated Kabuki actor Utaemon III (1778–1838) in the role of the legendary bandit-hero Ishikawa Goemon, here disguised in the stolen robes and cap of an imperial messenger. Capturing a scene from the play The Golden Gate and the Paulownia Crest (Kinmon gosan no kiri), Goemon hatched a plot to steal the Imperial Seal and thereby realize his dictatorial ambitions to eventually seize control of the Palace and rule the country.

The Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III (Shikan) as Ishikawa Goemon, Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 (Japanese, active 1808–32), Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan

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