$2,000–$15,000. Common prints: $2,000–$4,000. Key value factors: Kitano's sensuous Osaka-style bijin-ga have strong collector demand. His paintings command significantly higher prices.
Created in 1923 as a color woodblock print in oban format, this portrait of Umegawa returns to the heroine of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's "Meido no Hikyaku" (The Courier for Hell). Where Tsunetomi's other print of this subject focuses on Umekawa within the narrative context of the play, this version isolates the character as a standalone portrait, identified simply by her name. Umegawa was a courtesan of the Shinmachi quarter in Osaka, a location central to Tsunetomi's artistic world. The 1923 date places this print in the Taisho era, a period of great productivity for shin-hanga bijin-ga artists. Tsunetomi's sympathy for Umegawa's story of love, sacrifice, and doom reflects the Osaka artistic tradition's deep engagement with Chikamatsu's sewamono (domestic dramas), which were set in the very neighborhoods the artist knew and depicted.
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Umegawa (Umegawa from the play Meido no hikyaku) was created by Kitano Tsunetomi (北野恒富) in 1923.
Umegawa (Umegawa from the play Meido no hikyaku) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1923).
Umegawa (Umegawa from the play Meido no hikyaku) depicts kabuki, bijin-ga, and portraits.
