The Development of Facial Likeness in Kabuki Actor Prints

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The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints

Henk J. Herwig

Introduction The growing popularity of kabuki as a plebeian pastime in the seventeenth century stimulated enterprising publishers to provide the market with woodblock printed text and pictures related to the world of kabuki. Halfway this century actor critiques (hyôbanki) and illustrated play books (kyôgen bon) were issued, while theatre managers began to commission posters (banzuke), advertising their performances. These works, printed in black ink only, were at first dominated by text but gradually more illustrations of kabuki scenes and actors were inserted. The actors were mostly represented as anonymous personalities, despite the fact that the hyôbanki often described and discussed in detail the specific physical beauty and charms of popular actors. In the Genroku period (1688-1704), when kabuki experienced its Golden Age, important developments took place. ew acting styles, such as aragoto, established in Edo by the actor Ichikawa Danjrô I (1660-1704) and wagoto, initiated in Osaka by the actor Sakata Tôjrô (1647-1709) became popular, and talented scriptwriters, such as Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) enriched the kabuki repertory with captivating new dramas. Artists of the Torii School, known for painting illustrated theatre billboards, started in about the same period to design pictures of kabuki actors that were printed with woodblocks. This was the beginning of a unique tradition, unequalled in any other part of the world, that would flourish for almost200 years. This article describes when and how the woodblock printed actor portrait changed in the course of time from anonymous stereotypical depictions into nigao-e in which the individual actor could easily be recognized.1 To facilitate an objective comparison between faces of actors, designed in different periods, digital redrawings were used.

Materials and methods The actor portraits for this analysis come from various sources. Some were scanned from prints in our own collection or from prints illustrated in books and catalogues. Others were downloaded from museum databases available on the internet. The first step (Fig.1) to obtain redrawings of an actor’s face was by opening the digital files in Adobe Flash Professional CS5.2 Then the picture was modified so that the face was in an upright position facing to the left.

Fig.1. Procedure to make a vector drawing from the face of an actor (Ichimura Uzaemon VIII designed by Torii Kiyomasu II in about 1741). a: Desital copy b: Standardizarion c: Tracing d:Vector drawing. From left to right: digital copy of the original print showing the actor Ichimura Uzaemon VIII designed by Torii Kiyomasu II in about 1741 face standardized tracing the lines vector drawing.

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In all copies the magnification was adjusted to standardize the distance between the chin and the eyes. Subsequently the image was covered with a transparent layer to trace the black lines of the actor’s face. Distracting elements such as costume, wig, and facial make-up (kumadori) were ignored. Also the ears were usually ignored because frequently they are only partly visible. The tracings were made with the help of a pen tablet (Wacom, Bamboo Fun, CTH-661) in a contrasting colour, following the original lines as well as possible. The completed tracings, which can be compared to the work of the original carver, were vector drawings. Unlike JPEGs, GIFs, and BMP images, vector drawings do not consist of a grid of pixels. A vector drawing is a digital image defined through a sequence of mathematical statements that place lines and shapes in a given two-dimensional space. Each path may be assigned a specific line colour, shape, curve, thickness, or filling. The advantage of vector drawings is that they can be scaled, rotated or mirrored without losing detail. In addition, individual facial elements, such as eyes, nose or mouth can be removed from the drawn face for a better comparison with similar parts from other actor faces.

Early actor portraits

In 1700 an important picture book titled Fûryû ehon shihô byôbu (風流四方屏風, Elegant Picture Book: [Painted] Screens in All Directions) was published by Hangiya Shichirobei. It contained 43 single page sumizuri illustrations of leading actors designed by Torii Kiyonobu I (1664-1729), founder of the Torii School, which would dominate the market for actor prints in the first half of the eighteenth century. With this publication Kiyonobu established a style of drawing actors which would be followed closely by other artists of the Torii School. In examples from this book (Fig.2) it can be seen that Kiyonobu payed much attention to the poses and the costumes of the actors but that he designed the faces rather stereotypical so that it is not possible to identify the actors by their facial characteristics.3 We do know who they are because Kiyonobu provided each actor with his personal mon and name.

Fig.2. Three actor prints selected from the Fûryû ehon Shihô byôbu. From left to right: Wakamura Sawanosuke as onnagata okoyama okurôji (aragoto acting style) oshikawa Tamon (wagoto acting style)

When studying the faces in more detail (Fig.3) it can be noticed that the faces contain just enough features to be recognized as a face.

101 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints Fig.3. Details and vector drawings of actor faces selected from Fûryû ehon Shihô byôbu. From left to right: Ikushima Daikichi as onnagata Wakamura Sawanosuke as onnagata Ikushima Shingorô (wagoto acting style) Murayama Shirôji (wagoto style acting)

Curiously, the faces of the tachiyaku acting in the wagoto style, and the onnagata roles look almost identical, having both feminine pursed lips. The only difference is that the eyebrows of the tachiyaku usually point upwards, while they are arched downwards in faces of onnagata. In 1700 Kiyonobu also designed pictures of courtesans for a book titled Keisei ehon [傾城絵本, Illustrated Book of Courtesans].4 Comparing these pictures of courtesans with those of onnagata depicted in Fûryû yomo Shihô byôbu they all look alike, emphasizing that courtesans figure prominently in kabuki and that in these early pictures onnagata and courtesans were represented with archetypal faces reflecting the ideal of feminine beauty. Actors performing in the gentle wagoto style, who on stage speak and move in a refined and effeminate manner, are depicted with faces that are very similar to those of onnagata. Actors performing in the aragoto style have been depicted in dynamic agitated poses reflecting the exaggerated bombastic character of this acting style. Their faces are drawn with bulging eyes, a prominent nose with wide nostrils, and a distorted mouth with exposed teeth (Fig.4). By contrast to the faces of onnagata which are represented as icons of feminine beauty, the faces of actors acting in the aragoto style are represented as icons of mythical supermales.

Fig.4. Details and vector drawings of actor faces from actors performing in the aragoto style selected from Fûryû ehon Shihô byôbu. From left to right: Ichikawa Danjrô okoyama okurôji.

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When looking at actor prints published in the decennia following the publication of Fûryû ehon Shihô byôbu it can be noticed that the examples set by Kiyonobu were largely followed by other artists of this period (Fig.5).5

Fig.5. Examples of actor prints published in the first half of the 18th century. From left to right: Fujimura Handay II] by Torii Kiyonobu in ca 1715 Sawamura Sôjrô I by kumura Toshinobu in ca 1720 Sawamura Sôjrô I by ishimura Shigenobu in 1734 Ichimura Uzaemon VIII by Torii Kiyomasu II in ca 1741 Ichikawa Ebizô II by Torii Kiyomasa II in ca 1752

In the following decades minor changes took place in the portrayal of actor faces. From the 1730s actors performing in male roles were now frequently presented with a down-curved mouth, replacing the feminine pursed lips. In the 1740s the first bust portraits were designed which focus on the actor’s face, enabling artists to add more details such as a nostril. From about 1742 Torii Kiyoshige (act. 1716-64) started to design prints in which actors could be recognized by their nigao (Fig.6).6 Up till the 1760s he would continue to draw actor portraits with a distinct nigao (see Mutô Junko for other examples).7 Incidentally other examples of nigao-e can be found made by other artists such as Torii Kiyotsune (act. 1757-79) and Torii Kiyomitsu (1735-85), but up till the 1780s most artists of the Torii School designed predominantly anonymous actor portraits.

Fig.6. Actor portraits with a nigao designed by Torii Kiyoshige. From left to right: Matsumoto Kôshirô II, ca 1742 Arashi Otohachi I, ca 1757

99 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints From these observations it can be concluded that in the first half of the eighteenth century artists designed actors with rather simple stereotypical faces which could be singled out only on the basis of the three main acting styles: the onnagata, the wagoto and the aragoto. Within each category the actors could not be recognized as individuals. Consequently actors could only be identified by their personal crest (mon) or if their name was given on the print. As time passed by minor details were added to nose and mouth, but starting from the 1840s artists, in particular Torii Kiyoshige, designed actor faces of tachiyaku with a distinct nigao. This development might have been stimulated by the publishers of actor prints because many fans of kabuki visited the theatre not only for the quality of the play but to see their favourite actors perform on the stage. When they could buy nigao-e of their idols the sales would certainly rise.

Actor prints of the Katsukawa School artists

In the 1760s the market for actor prints was taken over by artists of the Katsukawa School, such as Katsukawa Shunshô (1726-1792) and Ippitsusai Bunchô (act. ca 1755- 1790). They continued the trend initiated by Torii Kiyoshige and provided all their actor portraits with a distinct nigao (Fig.7). 8

Fig.7. Actor portraits designed by Katsukawa Shunshô. From left to right: Ichikawa aizô I, ca 1764 Ichikawa Danjrô IV, ca 1768 tani Hiroji III, ca 1775 akamura akazô I, ca 1776

In the retracings it can be observed that the actor faces differ in various aspects, such as the facial silhouette, as well as the size, shape, spacing and angling of the eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth. Though contemporary sources praise Shunshô’s realism: “when it comes to drawings of actors, it really is as if they are alive”,9 Shunshô’s portraits, usually presented as three-quarter profiles gazing away from the viewer, are far from realistic. They should rather be looked upon as caricatures, emphasizing characteristic features of the actor’s face so that they could easily be recognized by the print buying audience.

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In 1770 Katsukawa Shunshô and Ippitsusai Bunchô designed a large number of actor portraits for a book titled Ehon Butai Ôgi (絵本舞台扇, Picture-book of the Stage in Fan-shapes) published in 1770 by Kariganeya Ihei (Fig.8).10

It showed over 100 half-length portraits of actors in fan-shaped cartouches, supplied with actor stagenames and haimyô . With this publication Shunshô and Bunchô provided not only an interesting overview Fig.8. Example page from Ehon Butai Ôgi of actors active in the second half of the eigtheenth century but also established the style of drawing actor faces for other artists of the Katsukawa School. Studying the faces of the actors portrayed by Shunshô and Bunchô an interesting difference can be noticed between the nigao of the tachiyaku and the onnagata (Fig.9).11

Fig.9. Details of tachiyaku (top row) and onnagata portraits (bottom row) selected from Ehon butai ôgi. Top row from left to right: Omegawa Kyôjrô I by Bunchô tani Hiroemon III by Shunshô Ichikawa Ebizô III by Bunchô Mimasuya Sukejrô II by Bunchô Sakata Hangorô II by Shunshô. Bottom row from left to right: Ichikawa Kodanji II by Shunshô Segawa Kikunojô II by Bunchô akamura Kiyosaburô by Bunchô Segawa Jokô by Bunchô Azuma Tôzô II by Bunchô

All tachiyaku are drawn with distinct facial characteristics and thus can be identified by their nigao. In contrast, all actors depicted as onnagata have an anonymous stereotypical face similar to those depicted by the artists of the Torii School. The absence of a distinct nigao for onnagata can be noticed not only in this book but until the 1780s in almost all onnagata portraits designed by artists of the Katsukawa School. Why publishers did not consider publishing onnagata prints with a distinct nigao is a matter of speculation. Maybe the facial details were masked by the make-up or the audience still preferred to see the onnagata represented with an idealized face, reflecting the utmost femininity. In the early 1780s Shunshô designed a series of ôban-sized prints of actors backstage. One of them shows the actor Iwai Hanshirô IV, who was one of the leading onnagata of the late eighteenth century together with Ichikawa Monnosuke II, another popular actor of the time, who excelled in various role types (Fig.10).12

97 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints Fig.10. Actors backstage designed b Katsukawa Shunsh between ca 10 and 1, and their acial retracings n the let Ichikawa Monnosuke II, on the right Iwai anshir IV

The retracings in demonstrate that Hanshirô’s face clearly differs from the stereotypical anonymous onnagata portraits which Shunshô had designed so far. The shape of the face, as well as the nose and mouth are designed in more detail, showing the beginning of a nigao typical for Hanshirô. Many of Shunshô’s portraits of Hanshirô which were published in the period following his backstage series, have more distinct facial likeness, often showing his double chin. The trend to design more detailed nigao-e, also for onnagata, was followed by Katsukawa Shunkô (1743-1812) and Katsukawa Shun’ei (1762-1819), both pupils of Shunshô. In the 1780s they designed several bust portraits with a distinct nigao, drawn with confident bold lines (Fig.11).13 These bust portraits are interesting because Hanshirô and Monnosuke have both been portrayed in male and female roles, which enables a more detailed comparison of their nigao.

Fig.11. Paired bust portraits and acial retracings rom let to right: Iwai anshir IV b Shunk in 1114 Iwai anshir IV b Shunk in ca 1 Ichikawa Monnosuke II b Shunk in 1 Ichikawa Monnosuke II b Shunk in ca 1

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The actors portrayed in the male roles both have chubby faces but the facial silhouettes differ significantly. Hanshirô has a more puffy face for which he was nicknamed ‘otafuku Hanshirô’ or ‘pudgy Hanshirô’. In addition, Monnosuke has slightly smaller, semi-circular eyes, and a more prominent nose than Hanshirô. Other features such as eyebrows, mouth and chin, are less discriminating. In both onnagata portraits the faces are drawn slightly smaller (this is visible only in the real prints because in the facial retracings the distances between the chin and the eyes have been equalized for all actors) and the facial outlines are less pronounced. They have smaller eyes and noses than their male counterparts, and they have smaller mouths with pursed lips. Without foreknowledge it would be impossible to affirm that the onnagata and tachiyaku versions come from one and the same actor. Obviously in these bust portraits, the nigao is a combination of notable facial characteristics of the actor and established role-type elements.

From these observations it can be concluded that from the 1760s artists of the Katsukawa School designed all tachiyaku with a distinct nigao, but designed onnagata with anonymous stereotypical faces representing icons of feminine beauty. That changed in the 1780s when Shunkô and Shun’ei started to design onnagata with a nigao. However, they depicted the onnagata with smaller faces and less prominent features than in the tachiyaku, stressing that they still tended to draw faces of onnagata as idealized representations of feminine beauty.

Actor prints by Tôshûsai Sharaku

In 1794 a series of half-length actor portraits was published designed by the enigmatic artist Tôshûsai Sharaku. Between the fifth month of 1794 and the first month of 1795 he designed 136 actor portraits and then nothing was heard of him anymore. His portrayal of actors, claimed to display an extraordinary realism and psychological depth, differed significantly from what had been done so far by the artists of the Katsukawa School. Fortunately Katsukawa Shunkô and Tôshûsai Sharaku both have designed portraits of the actors Iwai Hanshirô IV and Ichikawa Monnosuke II, which enables us to study in what respect their portraits differ (Fig.12).15

Fig.12. Paired bust portraits and acial retracings rom let to right: Iwai anshir IV b Sharaku in 1 Iwai anshir IV b Shunk in 1 Ichikawa Monnosuke II b Sharaku in 1 Ichikawa Monnosuke II b Shunk in 1

95 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints At first sight it is not easy to recognize one and the same actor in these paired drawings. Looking at the prints and the retracings of Hanshirô it can be noticed that, as compared to Shunkô’s portrait, Sharaku has designed the onnagata with a more delicate, less puffy facial outline, smaller oval-shaped slanting eyes provided with an upper eyelid. The tiny mouth with compressed lips differs noticeable from the conspicuous sensual mouth with pursed lips drawn by Shunkô. Most striking is the shape how Sharaku drew the nose. Its curved profile does not terminate near the nostril as can be seen in Shunkô’s design of the nose, but curves down forming a broad nasal septum, suggesting a more frontal view. The same tendencies can be noticed for the face of the Monnosuke. Sharaku’s outline is more subtle, incorporating the chin. In both faces the eyes have the same semi-circular shape but in Sharaku’s design they are smaller and have an upper eyelid. Both artists have provided Monnosuke with a prominent nose but the shapes are quite different. The mouth in Sharaku’s design is smaller and less contorted. Another important aspect is the use of dark backgrounds in Sharaku’s portraits, which creates a dramatic atmosphere and directs the viewer’s eyes immediately to the face, in particular to the eyes. As compared to Shunkô’s somewhat exaggerated portraits it might be said that Sharaku’s portraits are more delicate, conveying more subtle emotional feelings of the character in his role. However, an objective comparison is hampered by the fact that in the above-mentioned examples the actors are depicted in different roles. Fortunately there is an example in which the actor Sawamura Sôjûrô III has been portrayed as Ôgishi Kurando in the play Hana ayama Bunroku Soga [花菖蒲文禄曽我] performed at the Miyako-za in the fifth month of 1794 by both Sharaku and Shun’ei (Fig.13).16

Fig.13. Prints and retracings o the actor Sawamura Sr III as gishi Kurando b Shunei in 1 on the let and b Sharaku in 1 on the right

The retracings clearly show which graphical elements Sharaku uses to create facial likenesses: a delicate, detailed facial outline, prominent somewhat wide open eyes, a tiny mouth and a typical nose with a broad septum, providing a more frontal view. Compared to Shunei’s portrait, which might originally have had a much darker background, it is very instructive to see that almost all features, such as eyes, nose and mouth are drawn

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in a slightly different way. Besides, Sharaku’s way of shaping the face shows it more elongated while the position of the ears in relation to the eyes and eyebrows differs clearly from those in Shun’ei’s portrait. These comparisons confirm that Sharaku’s nigao-e differ considerably from those designed by artists of the Katsukawa School. Contemporary critics say that Sharaku’s style of designing actors was met with little enthusiasm. A quotation from the Ukiyo-e Ruikô (1831),17 speaks for itself: “Sharaku: Another artist who did likenesses of actors, but his excess of zeal to draw them real realistically led him to produce strange works, so that his popularity did not last long, and he ceased work within a year or two”. Also early Western collectors of Japanese prints and art historians, such as Ernest Fenollosa, who proclaimed Sharaku as “an arch-purveyor of vulgarities”, and Edward Strange of the Victoria and Albert Museum, who described him as an artist “of great power but little grace”, testify of their low esteem for Sharaku’s nigao-e. At present, we know how tastes can change over the years.

Actor prints of the Utagawa School

After Sharaku’s short career it was Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825) who took over the lead in the field of actor prints. He did not follow Sharaku’s delicate style but developed his own manner of portraying actors which was in many ways a continuation of the more exaggerated caricaturistic approach practiced by members of the Katsukawa School.

Fig.14. our examples o actor portraits designed b tagawa ookuni I rom let to right: Iwai anshir IV, 1 Matsumoto Yonesabur I, ca 1 Kataoka iaemon VII, 15 Ichikawa me I, 10

The examples of actor portraits designed by Toyokuni shown in (Fig.14),18 illustrate his style of drawing. The faces are drawn with confident lines producing almost effortless expressive and recognizable caricatures of actors in their role on the stage.

In a book titled Yakusha awase kagami (役者相猊鏡, A Mirror of Actors Compared) published in 1804 Utagawa Toyokuni illustrated a number of half-length actor portraits. By contrast to the Katsukawa School artists, he consequently also provides his portraits of onnagata with a recognizable nigao, which is no longer an idealized representation of feminine beauty (Fig.15).19 An interesting detail is that in this book Toyokuni provided most of the actor portraits with red earlobes.

93 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints Fig.15. etails o actor aces selected rom Yakusha awase kagami. op row rom let to right: Band ikosabur III Sawamura Gennosuke I Band Mitsugor III Matsumoto Kshir V Arashi Sanpachi I Bottom row rom let to right: Segawa Rok III akamura aikichi I sagawa suneo II akaama omisabur I Iwai Kumesabur I

In the following decades Toyokuni’s style of portraying kabuki actors would become a commercial success and would be followed closely by all his pupils, who produced - in the first half of the nineteenth century - thousands and thousands of actor prints with a distinct nigao. In 1817, Toyokuni provided illustrations for a book titled Yakusha nigao haya-geiko (役者似顔早稽古, Quick Lessons in Drawing True Likenesses of Actors). In this book he explains, by giving examples of actor faces, figures and scenes, the basic compositional principles of the Utagawa School. Most interesting is the page with a bust portrait of Ichikawa Danjûrô Fig.16. Page rom the book VI where Toyokuni gives step by step instructions, how an Yakusha nigao haya-geiko actor’s face should be drawn (Fig.16).20 published in 11 He dictates: “If you start with the nose, which is the centre of the face, then the face you draw will be naturally formed even if you have no artistic talent. Then draw the mouth and the eyes, taking care that the pupils are placed in the right position in case of a mie. Then draw the eyebrows, carefully placed and expressively modulated, and finally the remaining parts of the face”.

Toyokuni goes on to stress the importance of recognizing the most striking characteristics of an actor’s face and emphasizing them in the drawing so that the subject will be easily recognizable. He also stresses the need to understand the conventions of kabuki acting. By this he means the mie, the complex combination of motion and facial expression by which the dramatic highlights of a play were marked. He insists that this understanding was particularly essential when placing the pupils in the eyes and drawing the eyebrows. As regards the latter, he explains that: “The eyebrow is determined by the nature of the eyes. When an actor stares, worries or laughs, the eyebrows should be drawn according to the eyes”.21 Though he intended these instructions for a general audience, they provide a valuable insight in the working methods of the Utagawa School artists, as all his pupils strictly followed his instructions. Not everyone was happy with the Utagawa nigao-e, for example Hokusai. In a memo to the engraver Sugita, from a letter to the publisher Sûzambô dated 1836/01/17, he wrote: “This type [three sample eyes and noses in Toyokuni style], I quite realize, is now all the rage; but personally, I can’t stand it!” To Master Sugita he wrote; “Regarding figure-work, please engrave eyes like this, without lower eyelid…., noses like these…., Utagawa-style noses are like this….. but mine are to be cut thus….” (Fig.17).22

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Fig.17. okusais memo or the engraer Sugita rom a letter to his publisher Samb

In spite of Hokusai’s rather sour remarks actor prints designed by artists of the Utagawa School enjoyed a huge popularity. After the death of Toyokuni I in 1825, his pupils carried on his legacy. Most successful was his pupil Kunisada who took over the lead of the Utagawa School. He and his prolific studio would monopolize the market of actor prints, without remarkable innovations, until the end of the 19th century. Some examples of actor prints designed by Kunisada (1786-1864, from 1844 signing his work as Toyokuni) and Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) are shown in (Fig.18).23 Most examples come from series published in the 1850s and 1860s, showing popular actors posing in dramatic climaxes. By looking only at the actor’s nigao it would be difficult to determine which artist had actually designed the portrait, emphasizing that artists of the Utagawa School faithfully copied an actor’s nigao over and over again. By this time all portraits of onnagata were also designed with distinct facial characteristics, enabling the kabuki fans to recognize their favourite onnagata. Usually the onnagata were drawn with slightly smaller faces and always with feminine mouths, depicting the onnagata as they looked on the stage.

Fig.18. Examples o actor portraits designed b artists o the tagawa School rom let to right: Iwai Shiaku I b Kunioshi in ca 10 Sawamura anosuke III b ookuni III in 1 noe Kikugor III b Kunioshi in 152 Kataoka iaemon VIII b ookuni III in 15

91 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints By the end of his life Kunisada produced, in collaboration with Yoshitora, his opus magnum, a series ôkubi-e of actors he had seen on stage during his lifetime (Fig.19).24 The series, published between 1860 and 1864 by Ebisuya Shôshichi, was carved by the most skilful engravers and printed by the best craftsmen, using expensive materials. These striking portraits, printed with bright colours, show the actors posing at the height of their performance. They reflect all the glamour and high drama of the stage and can be considered highlights in the portrayal of kabuki actors in the nineteenth century.

Fig.19. Some examples o bust portraits designed b tagawa ookuni III in the 10s rom let to right: Sawamura Sr V, 10 Band Mitsugor III, 1 Kataoka iaemon VIII, 10 Band ikosabur, 10

A comparison between the portraits of the actor Bandô Mitsugorô III (1775-1831) designed by Toyokuni I in 1804 (Fig.15, upper row in the middle) and the posthumous nigao of the actor designed by Toyokuni III in 1863 (fig.19, second from right) demonstrates how the nigao of the Utagawa School had evolved over the years from a rather stiff portrayal into a more sophisticated and expressive nigao (Fig.20).

Fig.20. Vector drawings o Band Mitsugor IIIs ace made ater prints designed b ookuni III in 1 let and b ookuni I in 10 right

Actor prints from Osaka

Kabuki was a popular pastime also in Osaka. The audience there favoured the gentle wagoto style of acting, more than the rough aragoto acting which was popular in Edo. Actors however travelled between both cities and many successful Edo kabuki actors received their initial training in the Kamigata region.25 The production and marketing of single-sheet actor prints in Osaka started in the 1780s with the works by Ryûkôsai Jokei (act. 1777-1809).26 In the preface of a book titled Ôsaka dachin uma, [大坂駄珍馬] published in 1783 and compiled by Soketsuan Yûdôsanjin, it is said that Ryûkôsai was “incomparably skilful in portraying actor’s faces and people had him make pictures of their favourite actors”.27 Unfortunately, only few of his works survive, but the ones still

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existing confirm that he was indeed a capable portraitist. A detail of one of his paintings, depicting the onnagata Nakamura Noshio II as Okaru is shown in (Fig.21). 28 Okaru is one of the characters from the famous play Chûshingura. She is supposed to be a lovely young girl, but the artist shows Noshio - who was then almost forty years old - without much idealization as an older person with a double chin.

Considering the much older tradition of publishing actor portraits in Edo and the frequent journeys of Edo actors to and from Osaka it can be assumed that examples of Edo actor prints were also available in Osaka. Hence it is probable that Osaka artists have been influenced by the Fig.21. etail o a painting b Edo style of portraying actors. Since several kabuki actors, Rksai okei made in the 10s, such as Nakamura Utaemon III and Ichikawa Danzô IV depicting akamura oshio II as karu performed in both cities, their portraits designed in Edo by Utagawa Toyokuni I and in Osaka by Ryûkôsai Jokei and Shôkôsai Hanbei can be compared (Fig.22).29

Fig.22. omparison between the actor portraits o Ichikawa an IV and akamura taemon III designed b saka and Edo artists rom let to right: Ichikawa an IV attributed to Rksai okei in 1 saka Ichikawa an IV b tagawa ookuni I in 1 Edo akamura taemon III b Shksai anbei in 10 saka akamura taemon III b tagawa ookuni I 10 Edo akamura taemon III b Shunksai okush in 121 saka

The portrait on the left (Fig.22) attributed to Ryûkôsai shows the actor Ichikawa Danzô IV who started his career in the Kamigata and went to Edo in the spring of 1768. After playing for more than 16 years in Edo he returned to Osaka where Ryûkôsai designed in 1793 this hosoban print of Danzô, who was then 58 years old. Five years later, he went back to Edo for three more years, where Utagawa Toyokuni I designed this large head portrait. Both portraits show a detailed facial outline, a distinct upper eyelid, a large curved mouth and a prominent nose, but the details of each facial component and the positioning of these elements in the face are rather dissimilar. It takes some time to recognize in these two facial likenesses one and the same actor. While Ryûkôsai used many lines to depict an elderly person, Toyokuni has designed Danzô with fewer lines

89 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints suggesting a younger person, though at that time the actor was already sixty-four years old. Considering the actor’s age, Ryûkôsai’s version seems to be more true-to-life. Ryûkôsai’s pupil Shôkôsai Hanbei (act. ca 1795-1809) worked in the same tradition as his master. In 1806 he made the bust portrait of the actor Nakamura Utaemon III, who was then 28 years old and trying to get his career started in Osaka. Two years later, the actor, rather frustrated, left Osaka and went to Edo where he was met with great enthusiasm. There his portrait was designed by Utagawa Toyokuni I when he staged the role of Tadanobu, disguised as a fox.30 Comparing these two portraits of Utaemon it can be noticed that Shôkôsai depicts Utaemon with heavy eyebrows and a somewhat ungainly, square face - which probably comes close to the truth because it is said that Utaemon was not a good-looking man 31 - while Toyokuni has drawn Utaemon with a more refined, smooth face, showing slightly bulging eyes and a rather sharp nose. Another portrait of Utaemon was designed several years later in 1821 by the Osaka artist Shunkôsai Hokushû (active: 1802-1832), who was a pupil of Shôkôsai Hanbei under the name Shunkô or Shunkôsai. In 1818 he changed his name to Shunkôsai Hokushû, probably after encountering Katsushika Hokusai in Osaka and joining his school. By that time Utaemon was 43 years old, but his portrait designed by Hokushû shows a much a more vigorous nigao than the rather strained one designed by Shôkôsai Hanbei fifteen years earlier. Apparently, by the 1820s the Osaka nigao had come closer to the more idealized actor portraits designed in Edo. Nevertheless the Osaka actor portraits have a style of their own and are no imitations of Edo actor portraits. Actually, the differences are so substantial that without foreknowledge it would be difficult to recognize in the Osaka and Edo versions the same actor. In the 1820s and 1830s several Osaka artists, such as Hirosada (1810- ca 1865) and Sadamasu (act. 1834- 1852, changing his name to Kunimasu in 1848) studied with Utagawa Kunisada in Edo. To evaluate Kunisada’s influence it might be interesting to compare actor portraits of Hirosada and Kunimasu published in Osaka after their return with those of Kunisada (Fig.23).32

Fig.23. omparison between the two actor portraits o and designed b saka and Edo artists rom let to right: Kataoka Ichi I b Sadamasu in 11 saka Kataoka Ichi I b ookuni III in 152 Edo akamura taemon IV b irosada in 151 saka akamura taemon IV b ookuni III in 152 Edo

A comparison of the prints and the facial drawings reveals that actor portraits published in Osaka in the 1840s and 1850s definitely bear much more resemblance to their Edo versions than the early actor portraits designed by Ryûkôsai and Shôkôsai. The

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portraits of Kataoka Ichizô are almost identical but also for Nakamura Utaemon it is not difficult to recognize the same actor in both portraits. Obviously, in the 1840s and 1850s the Osaka nigao had shifted more closely to the Edo nigao. There is one remarkable difference. In the portraits designed by Toyokuni III the actors have a more elongated nose with a sharp tip, which comes close to the mouth. The Osaka artists draw the nose slightly more curved with a blunter tip, while the nostrils are tilted more upward, showing the openings from the lateral side.

To investigate whether the noses are systematically drawn in a different way in Osaka, the noses of Nakamura Utaemon III and Nakamura Utaemon IV designed by several Osaka artists have been extracted from their vector drawings and compared with noses of the same actors drawn by Edo artists (Fig.24).

saka noses

Edo noses

akamura taemon III akamura taemon IV

Fig.24. A selection o noses rom the actor portraits o akamura taemon III and akamura taemon IV designed b dierent saka and Edo artists op row‘ saka noses’ rom right to let: irosada 152 Sadamasu 1 Yoshikuni 12 Yoshikuni 122 okush 120 okkei 11 Shksai 10 Bottom row‘ Edo noses’ rom right to let: Kunioshi 152 ookuni III 1 Kunisada 11 Kunisada 122 Kunisada 115 ookuni I 10 ookuni I 10

A closer inspection of the drawings confirms the idea that noses are drawn in a different way in the two cities. In Osaka the profile of the nose is more curved with a blunt tip and a nostril tilted upward, while in Edo the profiles of the nose is more straight with a sharper tip and a less tilted nostril. Since the nose is the most stable component in the face, as has been mentioned already by Toyokuni I, it is a discriminating hallmark between Osaka and Edo actor portraits. Whether you like Edo actor prints better than Osaka actor prints is a matter of personal taste but Kunisada says in a letter to his patron Mitani in the 1860s that: “The [Osaka] faces are strange, and in contrast to Edo likenesses, they do not look like actors and are boring!”.33 It is a pity that we do not know what Kunisada did not particularly like about Osaka actor portraits.

The end of a tradition

In 1864, Kunisada, the undisputed leader of the successful Utagawa School, died, leaving his legacy in the hands of a new generation, represented by artists such as Utagawa Kunisada II (1823-80), Kunichika (1835-1900), and Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833-1904). They carried on the actor portrait tradition through the turbulent times after the opening of Japan to foreign countries. In the Meiji period (1868-1912), technological innovations, such as lithography and photography, formed a serious threat for traditional craftsmanship.

87 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints In an attempt to swim against the current, the artist Utagawa Yoshiiku designed a series of five actor prints titled ‘Photographic Mirrors of Actors’, trying to imitate photographs in woodblock prints (Fig.25).34 Another remarkable example of imitating photographs is the naturalistic memorial portrait (shini-e) of the actor Nakamura Hikaku designed by Kiyomitsu, (dates unknown) in about 1890.

Fig.25. aturalistic actor portraits rom let to right: woodblock printed portrait o the actor Sawamura anosuke III designed b tagawa Yoshiiku in 10 woodblock printed shini-e o the saka actor akamura ikaku designed b Kiomitsu in 11

The glossy imitations of photographs designed by Yoshiiku and Kiyomitsu look quite convincing from technical point of view, demonstrating the sophisticated level woodblock printing had achieved in the Meiji period, but they could not stop the advancing innovations. In the last quarter of the 19th century woodblock prints of kabuki actors were rapidly replaced by hand coloured photographs, such as the one made in about 1890 by Tamamura Kôsaburô (1856-1923?) (Fig.26).35

Fig.26. and coloured photograph rom the studio o Ksabur amamura ca 10, showing the kabuki actors Ichikawa anr I and akamura ukusuke IV

By the end of the nineteenth century the tradition of publishing woodblock printed actor portraits, came to a standstill. In the twentieth century there were several remarkable revivals of woodblock printed actor portraits with a distinct nigao, which might be discussed in another article.

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Notes 1 This article is a reworked and extended version of a talk titled ‘Nishiki-e, Mirrors of the Kabuki Stage’ presented by the author at the 20th International Ukiyo-e Society Fall Conference on November 7, 2015 at the Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. The author highly appreciates that Prof. Dr Oikawa Shigeru has been willing to translate this manuscript into Japanese. He also thanks his wife, Arendie Herwig-Kempers, for suggesting the subject, helping in the research, and carefully reading the manuscript. 2 The print used to explain the tracing procedure comes from the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.13276. 3 The three prints illustrated come from the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Mrs. Jared K. Morse in memory of Charles J. Morse, 2000.1255. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/ f%C3%BBry%C3%BB-yomo-by%C3%B4bu-fashionable-screens-of-the-four-directions-315997 4 Pages of the book are illustrated in: Timothy Clark, Anne Nishimura Morse, Louise Erica Virgin and Allen Hockley, The dawn of the floating world, 1650-1765: early ukiyo-e treasures from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston & Royal Academy of Arts, London. Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by H.N. Abrams, 2001. 5 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): Howard Link, The Theatrical Prints of the Torii Masters, A section of Seventeenth and Eigtheenth-century Ukiyo-e, Honolulu Academy of Art, Riccar Art Museum, 1977, # 6; Gunhild Avitabile et al, Early Masters, Ukiyo-e Prints and Paintings from 1680 to 1750, Japan Society Gallery, New York 1991, # 80 ; the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.13276; the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, John Ware Willard Fund, 47.231. 6 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): Sotheby’s London. Catalogue (L04753, lot 33) of an auction held in London, 08 June 2004. See http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2004/ japanese-print-collection-l04753/lot.33.html ; the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William S. and John T. Spaulding Collection 21.5670. 7 Mutô Junko, Torii-ha yakusha nigao – Torii Kiyoshige ni chûmoku shite in Ukiyo-e no genzai, ed. Yamaguchi Keizaburô, Bensai Shuppan, Tokyo 1999, pp. 71-97. See also: Shoki Torii-ha no yakusha nigao [初期烏居派の役者似顔]. In Mutô Junko, Shoki ukiyo-e to kabuki 初期浮世絵と歌舞伎. Kasama Shoin 2005, and her online database on early actor prints: http://drmutojun.art.coocan.jp/?page_id=157 8 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): the online database of the Art Institute of Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Collection 1925.2358a; the online database of the Art Institute of Chicago, Frederick W. Gookin Collection 1939.665; the online database of the Art Institute of Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Collection 1928.987; the online database of the Art Institute of Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Collection 1930.391. 9 The source of this quotation is: Clark, T., ‘Ready for a Close-up: Actor ‘Likenesses’ in Edo and Osaka’, in: C. Andrew Gerstle, Timothy Clark, and Akiko Yano, Kabuki heroes on the Osaka Stage, 1780-1830, British Museum Press, London 2005, p. 43. The original quote “Yakusha no sugata o utsusu ni makoto ni ikeru ga gotoshi”comes from Koikawa Harumachi, (Kokon meihitsu) Sono henpô bakemono-banashi, Edo, Urokogataya, 1776, p. 24. 10 The page illustrated comes from the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 2006.1796.1-3. 11 The details shown in this figure come from book pages of Ehon butai ogi [絵本舞台扇] illustrated on the online database of the British Museum, 1915,0823,0.59. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/ collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=190778001&objectId= 780644&partId=1 12 The print illustrated comes from the online database of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Clarence Buckingham Collection, 1925.2364. 13 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): the online database of the Art Institute of Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Collection, 1939.2206; the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.14970; the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels , Belgium, Inv. no. 1939; the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, Belgium, Inv. no. 1937. 14 It is still a matter of debate if all examples shown here are designed by Shunkô. The first print on the left showing Iwai Hanshirô IV as Akita Jônosuke Yoshikage refers to a performance of a play performed at the Kawarazaki-za from the eleventh month of 1791. It is very unlikely that Shunkô designed this aiban print, because he fell victim to a disorder of his right hand in the third or fourth month of 1790 and stopped drawing. As the signature of Shunkô has been added by hand, Tim Clark and others have suggested that this aiban okubi-e is probably designed by Shun’ei. 15 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): the online database of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Fletcher Fund 1929, JP1523; the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William

85 The development of facial likeness in kabuki actor prints Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.14970; the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels , Belgium, Inv. no. 1394; the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels , Belgium, Inv. no. 1937. 16 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): the online database of the British Museum, 1909,0618,0.43; the online database of the British Museum, 2004,0505,0.2. 17 The source is a copy from 1831, since the original, compiled by Ôta Nampo with additions by Sasay Kunimori during the Kansei era (1789-1801), is lost. 18 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): the website of R. Kruml,Japanese Prints, London; the website of R. A. Waldman & D. Frazer: The Art of Japan; the online database of the British Museum, 1925,1016,0.1; the online database of the the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William S. and John T. Spaulding Collection, 21.6944. 19 The details of the actor faces in this figure come from the book Yakusha awase kagami [役者相猊 鏡] illustrated in the online database of the British Museum, London, 1979,0305,0.200.1. http://www. britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?ass etId=189057001&objectId=779361&partId=1#more-views 20 This figure comes from the book Yakusha nigao hayageiko [役者似顔早稽古] illustrated in the online database of the British Museum, London, 1938,1008,0.19. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/ collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=23168001&objectId=7 79888&partId=1#more-views 21 This citation comes from: Ellis Tinios, ‘How to draw actor portraits, an introduction to Toyokuni’s Yakusha nigao haya-geiko’, in: Andon 32, Vol. 8/4, 1988, p. 168. 22 The source of this letter is Richard Lane, Hokusai, Life and Work, E.P. Dutton, New York 1989, p. 265 & 242. He reprinted and translated the text from K. Iijima, Katsushika Hokusai den, 1893. 23 The prints in this figure all come from the collection of Arendie and Henk Herwig, Aerdenhout, The Netherlands. 24 The prints in this figure all come from the collection of Arendie and Henk Herwig, Aerdenhout, The Netherlands. 25 For more details about early actor portraits designed by Osaka artists see: Clark,T., ‘Ready for a Close-up: Actor ‘Likenesses’ in Edo and Osaka’, in: Gerstle, C. A., Kabuki Heroes on the Osaka Stage 1780-1830, The British Museum Press, London 2005, pp. 36-53. 26 For more examples of actors designed by Ryûkôsai Jokei see: Gerstle, Andrew and Yano, Akiko, eds. 流光斎図録:上方役者似顔絵の黎明 (Ryûkôsai zuroku: Kamigata yakusha nigao-e no reimei) = Ryûkôsai Catalogue: The Dawn of Osaka Actor Likeness Prints. Nishinomiya: Mukogawa Women’s University, 2009. 27 This citation comes from: Roger Keyes, The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1973, p. 314. An original copy of the book Ôsaka dachin uma is in the collection of the National Diet Library. 28 This detail comes from a painting illustrated in the online database of the British Museum, 2004,0508,0.1. 29 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): the online database of the British Museum, 2004.3-27.02; the online database of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William S. and John T. Spaulding Collection, 21.6944; the online database of Waseda University Theatre Museum, Tokyo, 016-0762; the remaining two prints come from the Collection of Arendie and Henk Herwig, Aerdenhout, The Netherlands. 30 According to Shindô Shigeru, Nakamura’s portrait was made after a performance of the play Yoshitsune Senbonzakura [義経千本桜] staged at Edo’s Nakamura-za from 1808/05, but was issued in Osaka in 1809. Oral communication, November 2016. 31 See Timothy Clark, ‘Ready for a Close-up: Actor ‘Likenesses’ in Edo and Osaka’, in: C. Andrew Gerstle, Timothy Clark, and Akiko Yano, in Kabuki heroes on the Osaka Stage, 1780-1830, British Museum Press, London 2005, caption to fig 93, p. 130. 32 All prints illustrated come from the collection of Arendie and Henk Herwig, Aerdenhout, The Netherlands. 33 This citation comes from: C. Andrew Gerstle, Timothy Clark, and Akiko Yano, Kabuki heroes on the Osaka Stage, 1780-1830, British Museum Press, London 2005, p. 51. The quote originally appeared in: Ôkubo, 1991, letter no. 4, pp. 26-39. There is also a Japanese version: 日英交流, 大坂歌舞伎展: 上方役者絵と 都市文化 = Kabuki heroes on the Osaka stage, 1780-1830 / Nichi-Ei kôryû Ôsaka Kabuki Ten: kamigata yakushae to toshi bunka [図錄執筆者 アンドリュー・ガーストル 編集大阪歴史博物館]. C. Andrew Gerstle, Ôsaka Rekishi Hakubutsukan, Waseda Daigaku. Engeki Hakubutsukan. 34 The prints in this figure come from (left to right): the online database of the British Museum, 1906,1220,0.1348; the online database of the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum of Waseda University, http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=016-0828. 35 This photograph comes from the website of pinterest, https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/374361787747347317/.

〈日本語翻訳はP～5に掲載〉

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