Actor Nakamura Tamashichi I as Kobayashi Asahimaru. Actor Takaoka Gadö II Soga Jurö and Actor Ichikawa Ebizö V as Soga Gorö

Catalog note / 解説

Hirosada was one of the most important and prolific designers of Osaka actor prints in the late 1840s and 1850s. The Japanese government's policy known as the Tenpö Reforms restricted the consumption of luxury items. In particular, commoners were not allowed to purchase certain items that were classified as luxuries, which included actor prints. There was a five-year period during which no actor prints were produced. In 1842, the production of such prints was allowed with some restrictions. Hirosada was one of the major artists who worked on the revival of Osaka actor prints. The triptych exhibited here was originally part of a five-print set, but two prints that would have been on the righ…