Kotondo is best known for bijin-ga, but his complete oeuvre includes actor prints and other figure subjects. His small corpus of only 21 designs ensures that all authenticated period impressions carry collector interest and scarcity premiums.
Drawn from the kabuki play Kuruwa Sayaate, this print depicts a dramatic confrontation scene from the licensed pleasure quarters. The play features a samurai who is mistaken for his twin brother, and Kotondo — trained in the Torii school tradition of theatrical imagery — renders the kabuki world with the authority of a lineage steeped in its visual conventions. The composition balances theatrical tension with the artist's mature restraint.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Kuruwa Sayaate was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in Circa 1954.
Kuruwa Sayaate was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (Circa 1954).
Kuruwa Sayaate depicts figures, kabuki, and warriors.
