The actor Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838-1903) as the brothel proprietor Daikokuya Sōroku 大黒屋惣六 in the scene Yoshiwara Daikokuya (Yoshiwara Daikokuyo no ba 吉原大黒屋之場) from the play Go Taiheiki Shiraishi Banashi (The Tale of Shiraishi, a Latter-day Taiheiki).  (For the plot of this scene go to the heading "The Plot of the Play - Yoshiwara Daikokuya Scene" for the print IHL Cat. #663.)

For a profile of Ichikawa Danjūrō please see the article The Kabuki Actor and for a fascinating interview with the actor see Interview with Ichikawa Danjuro IX.

The Series One Hundred Roles of Ichikawa Danjūrō

Source: Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900), Amy Reigle Newland, Hotei Publishing, 1999, p. 127 and 26.

"In 1893 Kunichika undertook a commission for two series of single-sheet portraits that were each dedicated to an individual actor.  The first of these, One hundred roles of Danjūrō, featured the major roles of Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838-1903) in a set of half-length portraits.  A square cartouche in the upper register of each print contains a verse or illustration, and the series title cartouche is backed by peonies, a flower associated with Danjūrō IX."

“While his best-known pieces from this period are triptychs, Kunichika produced some outstanding series of single-sheet portraits, such as the One hundred roles of Ichikawa Danjuro IX (Ichikawa Danjuro engei hyakuban) and One hundred roles of Baiko (Baiko hyakushu no uchi).   Like Kunisada’s set of ‘large-head’ portraits, Kunichika’s two series may be regarded as ‘monuments to his [Kunichika’s] career’.  Whilst Kunisada attempted an overview of all the greatest actors of the age, Kunichika’s two series focus on the Kabuki doyens, Ichikawa Danjuro IX and Onoe Kikugoro V.

The publisher Fukuda Kumajiro (together with Gusokuya Kahei) commissioned Kunichika to begin work on the One hundred roles of Ichikawa Danjuro IX in 1893.  The series was completed posthumously in 1903, the year of the actor’s death and under the supervision of Fukuda Shojiro (d. 1925.)  The prints in the series were sumptuously printed using expensive materials and techniques.  Each image documents the actor’s most successful roles; a text or illustration appears in the upper register.”

Print Details

IHL Catalog	#701
Title (Description)	Ichikawa Danjūrō 市川団十郎 as Daikokuya Sōroku 大黒屋惣六  [in the play Go Taiheiki Shiraishi Banashi 碁太平記白石噺]
Series	One Hundred Roles of Ichikawa Danjūro  市川団十郎演芸百番 Ichikawa Danjūrō engei hyakuban
Artist	Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900)
Signature	国周筆 Kunichika hitsu
Seal	Toshidama 年玉印 [see above]
Publication Date	July 1898 (as printed in left margin 明治卅一年七月 日印刷仝月 日発行 )
Publisher	Fukuda Kumajirō [Marks: publisher ref. 071] 福田熊次郎 電話浪花 二九四 Fukuda Kumajirō Phone naniwa 294
Carver	not identified on print
Impression	excellent
Colors	excellent
Condition	good - full size, unbacked, minor soiling and wrinkling; 2 holes in paper on wrist of left hand
Genre	ukiyo-e; yakusha-e
Miscellaneous
Format	vertical oban
H x W Paper	14 5/8 x 9 7/8 in. (37.1 x 25.1 cm)
H x W Image	13 x 8 1/2 in. (33 x 21.6 cm)
Literature
Collections This Print	Honolulu Museum of Art 26543; Waseda University Cultural Resource Database 007-1970;  Kyoto University of Art and Design Ukiyo-e Collection 173

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