Light Snowfall: Actor Ichikawa Sadanji I as Obō Kichisa

Date:: c. 1876
Medium:: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 34.9 × 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

"Light Snowfall: Actor Ichikawa Sadanji I as Obō Kichisa" (circa 1876) depicts the celebrated Meiji-period actor in the role of Obō Kichisa, one of three fraternal outlaws in the kabuki play "Sannin Kichisa Tomoe no Shiranami." The snow setting creates a stark visual contrast between the white precipitation and the dark, brooding figure of the criminal protagonist. Yoshitoshi's theatrical prints of the 1870s reflect his deep engagement with the kabuki world that provided him with some of his most powerful dramatic subjects.

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 Snow Scenes Prints

Fair Weather After Snow at Yamato Bridge, Kyoto (Yamato bashi no yukibare), Taishô period, dated 1924

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

Miyajima in Snow (Yuki no Miyajima)

Yuki no Miyajima

1929

Color woodblock print; oban

Evening Snow at Shiha Park, Tokyo

1932

Woodblock print

Frequently Asked Questions

Light Snowfall: Actor Ichikawa Sadanji I as Obō Kichisa was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in c. 1876.

Light Snowfall: Actor Ichikawa Sadanji I as Obō Kichisa depicts snow scenes and kabuki.

Light Snowfall: Actor Ichikawa Sadanji I as Obō Kichisa measures 34.9 × 24.1 cm (Oban format).