$400–$3,000. Kabuki actor portraits are highly collectible. Good abstract works: $1,000–$2,000. Key value factors: Shinagawa's long career (he lived to 101) produced a substantial body of work. Quality abstract prints are most collected.
Dated to 1953 during the Showa period, this woodblock print belongs to the concentrated period of kabuki subjects that Shinagawa produced in the early 1950s. The Showa-period dating places it in the postwar era when kabuki, like other traditional arts, was undergoing reassessment and revival after wartime restrictions and the Allied occupation's initial censorship of feudal-themed performance. Shinagawa's decision to depict kabuki actors during this period represents both a personal artistic interest and a broader cultural reclamation. The print likely shares the bold, expressionistic treatment of its companion kabuki works, using carved line and saturated color to capture the heightened reality of stage performance. The specificity of the 1953 date may indicate that a particular production or actor inspired the work.
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Kabuki Actor, Shôwa period, dated 1953 was created by Takumi Shinagawa (品川工).
Kabuki Actor, Shôwa period, dated 1953 depicts kabuki.
