Onnagata Looking to Lower Right, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
$2,000–$15,000. Common subjects: $2,000–$5,000. Key value factors: Yamamura's Art Deco-influenced designs are particularly sought after. Kabuki actor prints and bold modern compositions command the highest prices.
Produced in the early 1920s, this [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print shows an onnagata performer looking toward the lower right. The onnagata tradition, in which male actors portray female characters, was one of kabuki's defining conventions, and Toyonari treated these performers with the same serious attention he gave to male-role actors. The rightward-downward gaze suggests a modest or deferential posture, appropriate to many female character types in the kabuki repertoire. Toyonari's composition is spare, with the figure set against an unadorned background that focuses all attention on the performer's face and upper body. The hairstyle and costume, rendered through the woodblock medium's layered color printing, provide the visual cues by which viewers could identify the character type, even without a named role.
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.
Onnagata Looking to Lower Right, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922 was created by Yamamura Toyonari (山村豊成).
Onnagata Looking to Lower Right, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Onnagata Looking to Lower Right, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922 depicts kabuki and portraits.