Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Sawamura Gennosuke IV as Nikki Danjo (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Sawamura Gennosuke IV)
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Scholten Japanese Art
Description
From the Shunsen Nigao-e Shu, Sawamura Gennosuke IV appears as Nikki Danjo, the villainous retainer whose famous "mouse magic" scene — in which he transforms into a rat — is one of kabuki's most celebrated supernatural moments. Shunsen renders the actor with appropriate menace: the face calculating and cold, the expression carrying the particular stillness of a man whose treachery operates beneath a surface of aristocratic composure. The quality of psychological observation in this portrait exemplifies why Shunsen's yakusha-e were celebrated as the finest of the shin-hanga era.
More Prints by Natori Shunsen
Actors Ichikawa Shōchō II as Umegawa and Kataoka Gadō XII as Chūbei
1927
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)"
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)"
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Frequently Asked Questions
Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Sawamura Gennosuke IV as Nikki Danjo (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Sawamura Gennosuke IV) was created by Natori Shunsen (名取春仙).
Yes — Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Sawamura Gennosuke IV as Nikki Danjo (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Sawamura Gennosuke IV) is part of the Creative Prints: Collection of Portraits of Actors series by Natori Shunsen.
Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Sawamura Gennosuke IV as Nikki Danjo (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Sawamura Gennosuke IV) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Collection of Shunsen Portraits: Sawamura Gennosuke IV as Nikki Danjo (Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Sawamura Gennosuke IV) depicts figures, kabuki, and portraits.