Description
Original woodblock print of vertical chuban (中判) format made in 1853 by the artist Konishi Hirosada (小西廣貞), also known by the pseudonym Gosotei Hirosada (五粽亭広貞), and depicting the actor Ichikawa Sukejuro (市川助十郎) as Onio Shinzaemon (鬼王新左衛門), the loyal retainer who helped the Soga brothers (曽我兄弟), who had been made fatherless when they were still children, to carry out their famous revenge against the responsible of the murder Kudo Suketsune (工藤祐経).
Hirosada was the most prolific Osaka-based designer of ukiyo-e (浮世絵) woodblock prints during the late Edo period (江戸時代). Like most of the authors of kamigata-e (上方絵), ie the prints originating in the Osaka and Kyoto regions, he specialized in yakusha-e (役者絵) actor prints. Hirosada is particularly known for his diptychs and triptychs, and for his many okubi-e (大首絵) portraits of the leading actors on the Osaka kabuki stage during his days.
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), produced by the publisher Isekichi (伊勢吉), despite the right signs of aging, is in good general condition.
