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Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide by Natori Shunsen — Japanese Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica and embossing, 1926

Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide

by Natori Shunsen

Shin-hanga
Kabuki
Date:
1926
Medium:
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica and embossing
Format:
Oban
Dimensions:
37.8 × 25.7 cm
Edition:
Published by Watanabe Shozaburo

Description

In this 1926 portrait, Ichikawa Chusha VII takes the role of Takechi Mitsuhide, the treacherous general of the Honnoji Incident who became one of kabuki's most complex and compelling villain-protagonists. Shunsen renders the actor with unsettling psychological precision: the eyes calculating, the features composed into the mask of loyalty that conceals betrayal. Mica and embossing emphasize the richness of the formal court costume, while the color balance of warm golds against cool shadows suggests the moral ambiguity at the heart of the role. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo in the landmark year of shin-hanga's first great international expansion.

More Prints by Natori Shunsen

Actors Ichikawa Shōchō II as Umegawa and Kataoka Gadō XII as Chūbei by Natori Shunsen

Actors Ichikawa Shōchō II as Umegawa and Kataoka Gadō XII as Chūbei

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Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

The Actor Sawada Shojiro as the Swordsman Hayashi Buhei, from the series “Collection of Portraits by Shunsen (Shunsen nigao shu)" by Natori Shunsen

The Actor Sawada Shojiro as the Swordsman Hayashi Buhei, from the series “Collection of Portraits by Shunsen (Shunsen nigao shu)"

The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon XV as Naozamurai, from the series “Collection of Portraits by Shunsen (Shunsen nigao shu)" by Natori Shunsen

The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon XV as Naozamurai, from the series “Collection of Portraits by Shunsen (Shunsen nigao shu)"

The Actor Onoe Baiko VI as Sayuri, from the series “Collection of Portraits by Shunsen (Shunsen nigao shu)" by Natori Shunsen

The Actor Onoe Baiko VI as Sayuri, from the series “Collection of Portraits by Shunsen (Shunsen nigao shu)"

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Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)" by Oda Kazuma

Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"

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Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Shin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print Revival

Frequently Asked Questions

Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide was created by Natori Shunsen (名取春仙) in 1926.

Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1926).

Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide depicts kabuki.

Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide measures 37.8 × 25.7 cm (Oban format).