We consider this to be the right-hand sheet of what once was a pentaptych of which only the four sheets that are grouped together here have survived.
The original Japanese collector who wrote inscriptions on this and other prints by Sharaku which found their way to Germany and are reproduced by Kurth, sometimes added to the name of the actor the nickname by which he was popularly known. In this case the inscription reads: Segawa Tomisaburō, generally called Hateful Tomi. (Yo ni Iya Tomi.) The picture is one of Sharaku’s most malicious portraits, but the second Tomisaburō had been an amateur for a large part of his life and even in his later years may not have been as finished an actor as those with whom he played.
No other impression of the print is known to have survived. This one which was at one time in the Jaekel Collection, has been reproduced by Rumpfas his number 121, as well as by Kurth, Nakata and others.
Hosoye. Background as in number 122. Signed: Sharaku.
Ledoux Collection.
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