Accession Number
2003/1.474

Title
Iwai Kumesaburô [III] as Koshimoto Fusano, Bandô Hikosaburô [IV] as Konoura Shingo

Artist(s)
Utagawa Kunisada

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1861

Medium & Support
woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
14 3/8 in. x 9 11/16 in. ( 36.5 cm x 24.6 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. James Hayes

Subject matter
Actor Iwai Kumesaburō III, was also known as Iwai Hanshirō VIII. He was born in 1829 and active from the time he was a child in the early 1830s. He became famous for his performances as an onnagata, a word which means "female role" or "female form." He died in 1882.

Little is known about actor Bandō Hikosaburō IV.  He was born in 1800 and held the name Hikosaburō from 1816 until 1856.  He retired from kabuki two years before his death in 1873.

Physical Description
In this print, a man and woman gaze at each other.  The woman wears a pale, flower patterned robe.  Her hair is decorated with gold pins and blue flowers.  The man wears a black robe with white crests.  The background is plain and dark.
 
Inscriptions: Artist’s signature: Toyokuni ga: Publisher’s seal: Ichi, Bakurochō, Marutokuhan; Censor’s seal: Tori 3 aratame; Koshimoto Fusano, Iwai Kumesaburō; Kiura Shingo, Bandō Hikosaburō

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
color print

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
actors
kabuki
men (male humans)
theater (discipline)
women (female humans)