18 Utagawa Kunisada 1786 – 1865 Ishibe: Iwai Kumesaburō III as Ohan

from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi)
publisher: Iseya Kanekichi

This print portrays Iwai Kumesaburō III (1818–1882) in the female role of Ohan, likely from a romantic kabuki play set near the Ishibe post station, one of the last stops along the famous Tōkaidō road. Kunisada renders the character’s delicate beauty with remarkable refinement, paying close attention to the textile patterns and kimono details. The tranquil rural background with wooden houses and trees adds lyrical depth, harmonizing portraiture and landscape in a single poetic composition. The inscriptionshita-uri (“resale”) carved into the block indicates a transfer of publishing rights — a rare acknowledgment of copyright practices in Edo-period printmaking, where reprints and publisher exchanges were common.