Shin Hanga prints
| Design: | Ōta Masamitsu (1892–1975) | |||||
| Title: | 9 Ōboshi Ichikawa Sadanji III | |||||
| Series title: | Gendai Butai Geika | |||||
| Size: | 37.4 x 24.7 cm (dai ōban) | |||||
| Original woodblock print | ||||||
| Photography: | Jacques Commandeur |
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Special effects: burnishing (sho-men-zuri) on the actor’s hair.
Published by Banchōrō in 1955.
Artist’s signature in left area of the print:
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in which the kanji read:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 雅 | masa | elegance | |
| 光 | mitsu | light | Masamitsu |
Series and print title, and publisher’s name in bottom margin of the print:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 現 | gen | present | |
| 代 | dai | age | |
| 舞 | bu | dance | |
| 台 | tai | pedestal | |
| 芸 | gei | acting | |
| 華 | ka | flower | Modern stage performance |
| 大 | Ō | large | |
| 星 | hoshi | star | Ōboshi |
| 三 | san | three | |
| 代 | dai | pedestal | |
| 目 | me | acting | Third generation |
| 市 | ichi | market | |
| 川 | kawa | river | |
| 左 | sa | left | |
| 団 | dan | group | Ichikawa Sadanji III |
| 次 | ji | next | as Ōboshi |
| 番 | ban | turn | |
| 蝶 | chō | butterfly | |
| 楼 | rō | watchtower | |
| 蔵 | zō | possess | |
| 版 | han | edition | Copyright Banchōrō |
| 三 | mi(tsu) | three | |
| 宅 | yake | house | |
| 耕 | kō | plow | |
| 晝 | hiru | daytime | |
| 堂 | dō | hall | |
| 摺 | suru | rub | |
| 刷 | suru | printing | Miyake Kōdokudō printing |
Followed by the number “39” embossed in the paper.
For pictures of the original presentation folder and leaflet with more information on the print and on kabuki actor Ichikawa Sadanji III, see Serge Astières’s website here, where you will also find that the blocks were carved by Itō Susumu (伊 藤進) and printed by Satō Ritsuzō (佐藤 律三).
Provenance: Yahoo Japan Auction