48
Ōtani Tokuji probably as Monogusa Tarō, disguised as a farmer and carrying a spade.
The outer robe which has been let down is mainly in dull purple and gray, with a greenish yellow lining. The garment at the waist is in deep rose. The under kimono which appears above the waist is light blue.
This print might possibly be connected with the fifth month production at the Miyako-za but it is much more likely to represent the actor in the rôle mentioned above which he played in Keisei Sanbon Karakasa. We place it as the left-hand sheet of a triptych.
The impression we exhibit is the only one in America. Another, which is somewhat trimmed, is reproduced in the Vignier-Inada Catalogue number 304, and as Rumpf number 55. A third appears in Nakata.
Hosoye. Yellow ground. Signed: Tōshūsai Sharaku.
Museum of Fine Arts (Bigelow Collection).
49
Ichikawa Tomiyemon probably as Inokuma Monbei, disguised as a farmer and carrying a mattock.
The outer kimono which has been let down is in white and oxidized orange stripes against a ground of blue. The under garment, showing below, is in red-brown. The inner kimono now is pale gray with a tie-dyed pattern embossed in white.
Like the last number, this print may possibly be connected with Hanaayame Bunroku Soga, and it must be admitted that the costume and hair arrangement are much like those with which Tomiyemon is represented in number 12. There are, however, no hosoye which can be definitely assigned to that play and the records of the production we are now listing give seemingly appropriate parts to both actors. We place the print as the central sheet of a triptych.
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