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a.imagelink {color:#0000FF;} a:hover.imagelink {color:#0000FF;} a:visited.imagelink {color:#800080;} a.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #0000FF; } a:visited.imagelink img.saleimage { border: 2px solid #800080; } Antique/Vintage Japanese Woodblock Print by Toshusai Sharaku -"Actor Tanimura Torazo as Washizuka Yaheita"
Presented is a beautiful Japanese full oban-size woodblock print by the renowned Edo-period artist Toshusai Sharaku (active 1794-1795).
The print depicts the actor Tonimura Torazo in the role of the villain Washizuka Yaheita from the Kabuki play "Koi Nyobo Somewake Tazuna". ('The Colored Reins of a Loving Wife). Created in a very special Sharaku style with an expressive face reflecting his role as a small-time villain, and his hand on the hilt of his sword.
There is very little known about Sharaku - his identity is a mystery. Some say he was a Kabuki actor himself who later became a woodblock print artist, creating portraits of his fellow artists. But this is just a speculation; in fact, nobody knows his real name and the dates of his birth or death. He was active for 10 months of 1794 - 1795, and then he mysteriously disappeared from the printing world. He created just about 150 prints and sketches (for example, Kunisada created about 20,000), and they are all highly recognizable, showing lots of character and humor.
The print was made using the traditional Japanese woodblock technique. It is signed with his full name ("Toshusai ga", or painted by Toshusai). I didn't examine the print out of the frame - I didn't want to mess with the nicely built frame. I don't know exactly when the print was made - most likely it's a later cut, probably from the 1940s, judging by the paper's toning, or maybe even earlier. But I can guarantee it's woodblock-printed, not a typographic offset or lithography.
AUTHOR: Toshusai Sharaku
ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: Tsutaya Jusaburo
TITLE: "Actor Tanimura Torazo as Washizuka Yaheita"
CREATED: c.1794-95
PAPER: washi paper
METHOD OF PRINTING: Woodblock printing
PRINTED: c. mid-1900
PRINT SIZE: Oban 15" X 10.25" incl. margins
The condition is excellent. There is some very minor toning, no foxing, and no losses.
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