Print by Toyokuni: 'The Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Omezo I in the Drama "Shibaraku" ', Japanese, ca. 1810

From 'Masterpieces of Japanese Prints', p.143 (V&A,1991):
This is most likely a depiction from a production at the Morita-za Theatre in November 1910. In the Meiji period (1868-1912) the script of the play 'Shibaraku' (Wait!) became fixed and the name of the main character was designated as Kamakura no Gongoro Kamemasa. Originally, the plot and the characters were created anew each time it was performed. Virtuous men and women, about to be cut down by an evil lord and his servants are saved by a man with superhuman strength. When this hero appears on stage, he utters the words 'Wait! Wait!' which at first was the only part of the play which was fixed.
Oban size. Signature: Toyokuni ga

Purchased from S. M. Franck & Co., accessioned in 1886. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.

This is a nishiki-e (brocade print), so called because its rich palette of colours is likened to nishiki or silk brocades. It is most likely the depiction of a production performed at the Morita-za Theatre in November 1810. The bold graphic stylisation and abstraction of form in prints such as this exerted a great influence on European artists. The South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) acquired a major collection of Japanese prints in 1886, making a large body of these images available to artists and a wider public for the first time.

E.4829-1886