Kabuki Actor in Profile Looking to Left with Sword, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
$2,000–$15,000. Kabuki actor portraits are highly collectible. Good actor or bijin-ga prints: $5,000–$10,000. Key value factors: Yamamura's Art Deco-influenced designs are particularly sought after. Kabuki actor prints and bold modern compositions command the highest prices.
This early 1920s [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print presents a kabuki actor in sharp profile facing left, with a sword visible as the key identifying prop. The profile view is a deliberate compositional choice that Toyonari used to create graphic impact: the actor's features are reduced to a silhouette-like outline, while the sword's diagonal line adds dynamic tension to the composition. Profile portraits have deep roots in Japanese printmaking, from Sharaku's mica-ground busts to Kunichika's late Meiji actor prints. Toyonari updates the convention with a modern economy of line, eliminating background detail entirely. The sword identifies the role as either a samurai character or a warrior from the jidaimono (period play) repertoire. The print's stark composition, with its interplay between the curved profile and the straight blade, is among Toyonari's most graphically striking arrangements.
1919
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Woodblock print
1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with nikawa and embossing
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Kabuki Actor in Profile Looking to Left with Sword, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922 was created by Yamamura Toyonari (山村豊成).
Kabuki Actor in Profile Looking to Left with Sword, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Kabuki Actor in Profile Looking to Left with Sword, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922 depicts kabuki and warriors.