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Osagawa Tsuneyo II probably as Ayame, the wife of Sadanoshin and the mother of Shigenoi.
This attribution is distinctly doubtful, as the full play-bill is missing and we do not know who took the part of Ayame. We do know, however, that someone did and that Tsuneyo acted in the production; and the costume and make-up shown here seem more appropriate to Ayame than to any other listed role.
The outer robe is faded blue; the inner one rose. The obi is in black and the head cloth is faded violet.
The subject is not a rare one as there are six copies of it in America, but Rumpf rephotographs for his number 13 from the Vignier-Inada Catalogue, number 282, and while Kurth uses a different impression the various Japanese books simply copy again the two prints reproduced in the Occident.
Ōban. Dark mica ground. Signed: Tōshūsai Sharaku.
Museum of Fine Arts (Spaulding Collection).
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