The actor, Nakamura Utaemon III, stands with hands clasped and face in the aragoto mie pose in front of a mesh curtain. At first glance, the curtain appears as an intricately designed backdrop, but upon closer inspection, one notices faces are visible in the black gauze stage curtain that represents smoke in this outstanding print by Hokushū.
A versatile and talented star of the Osaka theater, Nakamura Utaemon III here plays the role of Ishikawa Goemon, a ronin (masterless samurai) bandit and rebel whose exploits were the subject of many kabuki dramas. In the premier performance of Keisei setsugekka, a play that Utaemon wrote under his pen name, he wears the disguise of a farmer and calls upon the arts employed by ninja (secret agents) to elude the warriors who pursue him. The artist Hokushū collaborated with the master block engraver, Kasuke, to produce some of the finest Osaka prints.
","remarks":"as per object file"},{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Provenance","textentryhtml":"\t– \tThe Haber Collection (New York, NY).
\n–2011\tSebastian Izzard LLC Asian Art (New York, NY), sold to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2011.
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