The format of this print suggests that it was part of a triptych, with one sheet to its right and left, completing the composition. The title would have appeared on the right sheet, and the artist's name at the far left. There is a blank margin on the left side only to allow for joining the sheets by overlapping the right-hand edges.
This vivid image shows two Kabuki actors dressed in their street attire. Ichikawa Danjuro is at the upper center, wearing a Western-style black jacket and modish purple bowtie. Both he and the other actor, who wears traditional Japanese garments, have their hair cut short in the style favored by the men of the period who wanted to adopt what was regarded as the most modern style.
Provenance:
From the 1960s to 1999
Elizabeth D. Woodbury, Japan and Alexandria, VA, purchased in Japan in the 1960s [1]
From 1999
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, given by Elizabeth D. Woodbury in 1999
Notes:
[1] According to Provenance Remark 1 in the object record.