Nakamura Tomijuro as Tominomori Sukeemon

Date:: May 1987
Medium:: Woodblock print
Source:: japancoll

Typical Price

Key value factors: For living or recently deceased artists, limited edition size and gallery representation drive value. Signed and numbered prints from smaller editions are most desirable.

Common examples: $100–$400
Good impressions: $400–$1,500
Premium/scarce: $1,500–$5,000

Description

This May 1987 print captures Nakamura Tomijuro performing as Tominomori Sukeemon, a retainer figure from the historical-drama wing of the kabuki repertoire. Sukeemon is a samurai role requiring the actor to project military discipline, personal honor, and the constrained emotion that defines the warrior class in Edo-period drama. Tomijuro's portrayal is fixed in Kokei's woodblock with attention to the specifics of the performance — the angle of the sword, the set of the shoulders beneath armor or formal kamishimo, and the facial expression that communicates duty held above personal feeling.