Tsuruya Kokei (b. 1946), Actor Nakamura Utaemon VI in the role of Tonase in the play The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers (Kanadehon chushingura), from the series Okubi-e (Bust Portraits, Series IV, Design 7), November 1984

Tsuruya Kokei (b. 1946)

Actor Nakamura Utaemon VI in the role of Tonase in the play The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers (Kanadehon chushingura), from the series Okubi-e (Bust Portraits, Series IV, Design 7), November 1984

Woodblock print on gampi paper, embellished with gofun (white pigment) on the face and hands and metallic pigments
Large red artist's seal: 'Tsuruya Kokei'
Hand-written ink inscription: 'nijukyu' [29] over red seal 'Yonjugo-hin' [item 45] [limited edition number 29/45]
Self-carved and self-printed
Date: November 1984

39.7 x 27 cm. (15 ⅝ x 10 ⅝ in.)

Fine impression, colour and condition. Reverse with red collector's seal and small pencil annotation.

£ 800.00

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Tsuruya Kokei's earlier actor prints differ from most woodblock prints of the period because of his use of 'ganpi' paper from Kochi Prefecture, prized for its translucent delicacy and silken...

Tsuruya Kokei's earlier actor prints differ from most woodblock prints of the period because of his use of 'ganpi' paper from Kochi Prefecture, prized for its translucent delicacy and silken touch. This paper is challenging to work with but its near-weightless quality juxtaposes with the bold, assertive lines of his imagery — a contrast apparent in his portraits of actors in roles such as Nakamura Utaemon VI as Tonase, whose presence on the page is anything but fragile. Tonase is a character from 'Kanadehon Chushingura', the most celebrated of all Kabuki dramas, a tale built on the twin pillars of loyalty and revenge.

As noted by The British Museum:
"Tonase is the heroic mother of the tragic heroine of the main sub-plot. She accompanies her daughter Konami to Kyoto to ensure her honourable marriage, and in her husband's unavoidable absence wears his two swords as symbols of his soul and authority as a samurai. In this print she is shown with the hilt of one of the swords prominently visible."

For the impression of the same print in The British Museum, museum no. 1984,1024,0.5, go to:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1984-1024-0-5

Dr. Gerhard Pulverer is a German medical researcher who worked at the University of Cologne. He bought his first Japanese woodblock prints in Kyoto in the 1970s while visiting Japan for a scientific conference. For more than thirty years, he and his wife Rosemarie travelled the world assembling a large collection woodblock prints and Japanese illustrated books (ehon). In forming the collection, he drew on the advice of highly regarded experts including Jack Hillier, C.H. Mitchell, Tim Clark and Ellis Tinios.

In 2007 the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC purchased the illustrated book collection. It is today regarded as one of the most outstanding and comprehensive collections of Japanese illustrated books outside Japan.

For an insightful interview with the collector by Ellis Tinios (on behalf of the Smithsonian National Museum of Art), go to:

https://pulverer.si.edu/node/186

Provenance

Dr. Gerhard Pulverer (b. 1930)

Theatre

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