Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Onoe Matsusuke IV as Chobei (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Onoe Matsusuke IV)
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Scholten Japanese Art
Every Shunsen print from the 36-actor series and the supplemental 15-print series (1929–1931) was limited to ~150 copies, making all original Watanabe impressions inherently scarce. Mica backgrounds and vivid color are key condition criteria that separate first from later impressions.
From the Shunsen Nigao-e Shu, Onoe Matsusuke IV is shown as Chobei, the boss of Edo's roughnecks in plays drawn from the legend of the chivalrous outlaw Banzuin Chobei. This was a role demanding physical presence and a kind of populist swagger — the street boss as hero — and Shunsen renders Matsusuke's interpretation with appropriately direct, unceremonious energy: the face open and direct, the bearing confident, the costume of the Edo commoner carefully observed.
1927
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Onoe Matsusuke IV as Chobei (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Onoe Matsusuke IV) was created by Natori Shunsen (名取春仙).
Yes — Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Onoe Matsusuke IV as Chobei (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Onoe Matsusuke IV) is part of the Creative Prints: Collection of Portraits of Actors series by Natori Shunsen.
Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Onoe Matsusuke IV as Chobei (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Onoe Matsusuke IV) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Onoe Matsusuke IV as Chobei (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Onoe Matsusuke IV) depicts kabuki.