The Actor Nakamura Utaemon III as Inanoya Hanbē

1820

Not on view

One of the great “all-around actors” (kaneru yakusha) of the Osaka stage who could play any type of role—male or female, hero or villain—Nakamura Utaemon III (1778–1838) is captured in a dramatic bust portrait of the townsman turned samurai Inanoya Hanbē. The accompanying poem, probably by a member of a fan club, praises the actor:

Mirukara ni
horeke mo sasuga
meijin no
shi-uchi wa sate mo
yoi otokoburi
—Suihendo

Even at first glance,
he’s so captivating—
truly a skilled actor,
whose technique, it’s true,
makes him seem so dashing.
(Trans. John T. Carpenter)

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

「稲ノ谷半兵衛　中村歌右衛門」　（三代目）
Title: The Actor Nakamura Utaemon III as Inanoya Hanbē
Artist: Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 (Japanese, active 1808–32)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 1820
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban
Dimensions: Image: 15 3/8 × 10 3/8 in. (39.1 × 26.4 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2020
Object Number: 2020.302
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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The Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III (Shikan) as Ishikawa Goemon, Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — The Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III (Shikan) as Ishikawa Goemon
Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲
1822

Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke, Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 Japanese, Right sheet of a diptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke
Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲
1821

The Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei Oichi, Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — The Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei Oichi
Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲
1826

The Actor Asao Gakujūrō I (previously Yūjirō I) as Mashiba Hisatsugu, Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — The Actor Asao Gakujūrō I (previously Yūjirō I) as Mashiba Hisatsugu
Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲
1822

Kabuki Actors Asao Yūjirō as Sano Genzaemon and Ichikawa Ebijūrō I as Miura Arajirō, in the play Keisei Sano no Funabashi, Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲 Japanese, Diptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Kabuki Actors Asao Yūjirō as Sano Genzaemon and Ichikawa Ebijūrō I as Miura Arajirō, in the play Keisei Sano no Funabashi
Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲
1822

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