Giclee, Theater, Kabuki, Alexandre Iacouleff, Theatre Japonais, Samurai Sword, Art Deco

Archival Limited Edition Giclee print after the original heliogravure by Russian artist Alexandre Iacouleff for Kabuki Japonais, published in 1838, the year of his death.

In this scene, the actor Ichikawa Chusha, takes the role of warrior rebel Akechi Mitsuhide in the play Ehon-Taikoki. The hair, the thick-brow, the makeup of eye and of the mouth define the violent character of the person. The squinting is appropriate for the ‘concentration’ in the final monologue. Ume no Yoshibei is the principal character of the tragic Sumida no Hatsu Geisha Katagi. He is depicted with samurai sword in his mouth, delect features & a shaved hairstyle.

Size = 28 x 38 cm / 11 1/6 x  15 1/6 inches

Issued with Archival Limited Edition Certificate

Historical context:

Akechi Mitsuhide (1528 – 1582) was a samurai and general who lived in Feudal japan in the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was a general under Daimyo Oda Nobunaga, who then became famous for his rebellion against Nobunaga in 1582 in which Nobunga died. Mitsuhide's reigned as shōgun for only 13 days, becoming known as the "thirteen-day shogun". While fleeing the Battle of Yamazaki, soon after the rebellion, he was killed. Mitsuhide has remained popular.

Ume no Yashibei was an otokodate (gang member) based on a character that lived in the Genroku era, Umeshiba no Kichibei, who in 1689 murdered a shop apprentice, named Chokichi, to steal his money.