Shin Nigao: Nakamura Kichiemon I in the role of Yura Hyôgonosuke Nobutada

Nakamura Kichiemon I (1886-1954) was among the leading kabuki actors of his generation and one of Shunsen's recurring subjects in the "Shin Nigao" (New Portraits) series published by Watanabe Shozaburo from 1925. The role of Yura Hyogonosuke Nobutada places him in samurai costume; the portrait would render the crisply outlined facial features and restrained makeup characteristic of jidaimono (history play) roles rather than the heavy aragoto kumadori associated with the Ichikawa line. Shunsen's compositions for this series favor the bust format inherited from late ukiyo-e okubi-e, here updated with the careful psychological observation that distinguishes shin-hanga actor prints from the broadside posters of earlier kabuki publishing. The production sequence involved Shunsen's brushed hanshita-e, the carver's fine line work on the keyblock, and the printer's flat color and bokashi gradations on washi paper. Kichiemon was designated a holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) in 1951, lending later impressions of his portraits a documentary as well as art-historical value within the tradition of yakusha-e that Shunsen carried into the twentieth century.