Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Torii Matasuke

Date:: 1860, 3rd lunar month
Medium:: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 36.5 × 24.1 cm
Source:: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Typical Price

Fine Kabuki actor print in excellent condition: $1,500–$6,000
Good condition actor portrait: $500–$2,000
Standard impression: $200–$700

Description

This early 1860 print portrays the actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV in the role of Torii Matasuke, a character from one of the theatrical cycles popular in Edo-period kabuki. Kodanji IV was one of the great actors of the final Edo period, known for his specialty in supernatural and evil roles. The Torii gate imagery in the print's tags may connect to a scene set at a shrine, where the theatrical and the sacred intersect in the complex world of kabuki drama. The print dates to Yoshitoshi's earliest independent work.

More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Shunkan Watching Enviously from Kikai Island as Yasuyori Returns to the Capitol after Being Unexpectedly Pardoned (Shunkan sozu Kikaigashima ni oite tamatama Yasuyori no shamen senbo kito no zu)

Looking as if She Wants to Go for a Walk: The Fashion of a Married Woman of the Meiji Era (Yūho ga shitasō, Meiji nenkan saikun no fūzoku), from the series Thirty-two Appearances of Fashion (Fūzoku sanjūni sō)

Slovenly (Shidaranasaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"

1888

Color woodblock print; oban

Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi"

n.d.

Color woodblock print

More Temples & Shrines Prints

Fushimi Inari Temple

伏見稲荷

Woodblock print

The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in the Snow (Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"

c. 1832/38

Color woodblock print; oban

Temple with lanterns

Woodblock print

A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Uji Byodoin no ichibu

1921

Color woodblock print; oban

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Meisho-e: Famous-Place Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Torii Matasuke was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 1860, 3rd lunar month.

Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Torii Matasuke depicts temples & shrines, kabuki, and torii gates.

Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Torii Matasuke measures 36.5 × 24.1 cm (Oban format).