Inoe Yasuji Tankei: Washington Norton Variety Act Advertisement

Artist: Inōe Yasuji (1864-1889)
Title: Washington Norton Variety Act Advertisement  Date: 1888, March

Advertisement for the Washington Norton Group, a variety act that included artists performing magic, illusion and acrobatics in ways that were new to the Japanese audiences. This print is an advertisement for a limited engagement performance at Chitose-za 千歳座 in Hisamatsu-cho, Tokyo. This area was then Nihonbashi, and the theater was an important one that hosted kabuki theater. This was apparently the first time that foreign performers had rented a Japanese theater, and the Japanese wording of daidai kano 大々叶  may be read as “Great Hit”. 

The text on the top of the print reads as follows:

“Names of the Artists: Washington Norton and his wife Mrs.Norton, Charles Darmer, Robert Zensen, Alfred Zensen, William Harber (Harvey), Charles Harber (Harvey), Albert Lynton.(eight in total)

Great Hit at the Chitose-za, Producer

Great Hit Starting on March 13. Printed on March 10, 1888. Published on March 17 by Fukuda Kumajirô at Punch, 19 Hasegawa-cho Nihonbashi-ku.”

The print itself is visually masterful; We see two acrobats flying towards each other in midair, and we wonder if they are supposed to make contact. Three other performers are seen flying in the distance towards the moon. The acts in the show apparently included performers also being suspended midair, so the flying might relate to that, in addition to the acrobatics. The huge moon in the print may refer to a “moon world” performance, a spectacle that may have included a giant moon on the stage from which female performers emerged. At bottom right we see a man on a stool playing the banjo; it is unclear if he is a Black American. Next to him are bald performers whose act seems to include two pigs; perhaps these are the Harvey Brothers. A pig seems to be biting the skirt of one of the performers. In the background are several buildings that are clearly western.

It seems that performances began on March 13, 1888, and this work was dated March 10. A Japanese source even gives the ticket prices: A 1st class box was one yen, and general admission was .2 yen; these seem to be quite strong prices for the time. Following this performance there was even a Japanese actor who imitated Norton’s magic acts, helping to popularize them in Japan.

Inoue Tankei (Yasuji) was at a time a student of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, and became a student of Kobayashi Kiyochika during 1878-79. He died in the following year of this advertisement (1889) in September at a young age.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. Mild yellow stains beneath the moon. Dimensions: ôban (37.2 x 24.6 cm)
Publisher: Fukuda Kumajirô 福田熊次郎 Signature: Inoue Tankei井上探景

SKU: INE014