Toyonari: Actor in a Chinese Opera

Artist: Yamamura Kōka (Toyonari) (1885-1942)
Title: Actor in a Chinese Opera  Date: ca. 1924

Bold, surprising, design of an actor in a dramatic performance that is not kabuki. His makeup (mask?), headdress and fringed face covering, as well as what looks to be even more elaborate portions of his costume, fill up the entire background, so his expressive eyes must be working overtime to convey his role. We also see part of his hand raised in a gesture. This must be for a performance of Peking opera,  which featured costumes with a highly codified theatrical language which identified the character’s status and type; in this way it shares traits with kabuki. There were performances of this type staged in Tokyo at around this time. The Metropolitan Museum has a strong collection of costumes from Chinese Opera.

There is karazuri ("blind printing") on the large white tassel that dangles from his headpiece. This comes from a group of ten prints that were published with the support of the Yamamura Koka Hanga Kankokai, ca. 1924. This is the only actor in this innovative group. Scarce.

Dimensions: 40 x 28 cm Publisher: Yamamura Koka Hanga Kankokai

Sealed: Toyonari

References:  Amy Reigle Newland, et. al., Printed to Perfection: Twentieth Century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2004, p. 83, no. 67; Koyama Shuko, Beautiful Shin Hanga- Revitalization of Ukiyo-e,Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 2009, p. 183, no. 4-62; Andreas Marks, Seven Masters: 20th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection, pp. 64-73, and Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2015, Yamamura Koka (Toyonari) Exhibition History, p. 211.

SKU: TNR012