Kanjinchō is one of the kabuki classics – a staple of any actor and all of the theatres. It is a very compact play with…

Although Chūshingura isn’t a name that most people in the West would recognise but I’m sure they would have heard of the story of the…

Sukeroku is another classic kabuki play – something that is always on the repertoire in Tokyo. For the lead performer it is an Otokodate role…

In my previous article, on the play Okige no kumo harau Asagochi, I covered one of the most successful of the modern Meiji plays staged…

“Okige no kumo harau Asagochi” (“The Morning East Wind Clearing the Clouds of the Southwest“, 西南雲晴朝東風) is one of my favourite plays in yakusha-e prints,…

The first image is a really unusual ōkubi-e (big-headed print) and I was very lucky to be able to purchase it because this sub-genre is…

This unassuming print features another nice conflict between the traditional kimonos worn on either side and the western hat and metal-spoked umbrella held by the…

This was a pre-Christmas delivery of interesting yakusha-e prints from the Japanese auctions.  This print is a classic scene from a famous play called “Kiwametsuki…

This 1887 print features Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as the central figure, a lion dancer – accompanied in the dance by his butterfly attendants. It is…

This striking 1883 series is called “The Popularity of the Upstairs Dressing Room”) 楽屋 二階 影 評判, featuring famous actors of the time being dressed.…