8 Enrōsai Shigemitsu 1848 – 1854 Actor Ichimura Uzaemon XII as Miyamoto Musashi

Japan, 1848 (Edo period, Kōka 5 / Kaei 1 era)

Left sheet of an original triptych). Publisher: Miyakozawa

This dynamic theatrical print (yakusha-e) is the work of the artist Enrōsai Shigemitsu. The present sheet originally formed the left panel of a dramatic triptych. According to museum records (a full impression is held, for instance, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), this left section depicts the actor Ichimura Uzaemon XII in the role of the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. From the perspective of theater history, this represents an imaginary performance (mitate). Although the featured actors performed together at the Ichimura theater starting from the first month of 1848, no actual staged play corresponds exactly to this scene (it was likely a promotional design for a planned but unrealized staging). The print bears the signature Enrôsai Shigemitsu ga alongside the censor seals Hama and Kinugasa.