Kunisada: Ichikawa Shinnosuke IV as the Hero Shibuya no Konnomaru with large weapon

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title:  Ko Brigade, Fifth Group, Shibuya: Actor Ichikawa Shinnosuke IV as Shibuya no Konnômaru Series: Edo no hana meisho-e (Flowers of Edo and Views of Famous Places)江戸の花名勝会  Date: 1863

The actor Ichikawa Shinnosuke IV as the hero Shibuya no Konnomaru. The actor Ichikawa Ebizo VII held the name of Ichikawa Shinnosuke IV from the 7th lunar month of 1863 until the end of 1869. He holds a long pole arm with a curved blade; above are two arrows a bow and a sword, all mounted on a wall. At left, in a scene by Sadahide, we see a man leading a white horse amidst cherry blosso

The term “Flowers of Edo” (Edo no hana) here refers to the terrible and common occurrence of fires, for which there were many fire brigades active throughout the city. The title panel shows the lanterns and identifying standard (matoi) for the brigade of firefighters (hikeshi) assigned to this district.  The title gives the name or number of a brigade, its group, and its district, followed by the kabuki scene chosen to match it. There is a lot going on in each design, as in the upper right are the standards and lanterns for specific fire brigades, and on the upper left are usually magic lantern slides. Then there are one or two designs that comprise the lower portion, with Kunisada designing the actor portrait and various (21! in total for the series) other artists designing the landscape scenes. Other artists who participated in this design: Hasegawa Settei (Japanese, 1813 – 1882) and Kakuju-jo (Japanese, active 1860s)

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban (35.1 x 24.2 cm)
Publisher: Katôya Iwazoô (Seibei)
Literature: See MFA website and FAMSF, Waseda University websites. A reference book has been privately published by Simon Henry that examines this entire series.
Signature: Toyokuni ga

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