Natori Shunsen

The Kabuki actor Nakamura Kichiemon I (1886–1956) as Akechi Mitsuhide . Print from 1921.

Onoue Kichigorō VI. as Hayano Kambei

Natori Shunsen ( Japanese 名 取 春 仙 ; February 7, 1886 in Kushigata (today: Minami-Alps ) - March 30, 1960 ) was one of the last Japanese woodcut artists in the ukiyoe style.

life and work

Shunsen was born in Yamanashi Prefecture , but his family moved to Tokyo the following year. From 1897 he studied painting under Kubota Beisen (1852-1906) and under his successor Kinsen (1875-1954). He also studied under Hirafuku Hyakusui , who had a great influence on him and moved him to join the artist group "Museikai", which advocated more realism of the Nihonga direction. With Ogawa Unsen (1868–1938) and others, he founded the artists' association "Coral Society" ( 珊瑚 会 , Sango-kai ), but then went to the daily Asahi Shimbun , for which he worked as an illustrator. In addition, he became known for book illustrations, u. a. belonged Natsume Soseki to his clients.

While working for the newspaper, Shunsen developed an interest in portrayals of kabuki actors . From 1925 he worked together with the art dealer and publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885–1962), who published a series of 36 actor portraits of him. The sheets of this very successful series were published until 1929, then Shunsen designed 15 additional sheets by 1931.

Shunsen preferred the Ōkubi design, i.e. the half- length portrait , when portraying the actors . This allowed him to portray the actors' facial expressions in an expressionist manner. His last series "Current Actors in Dramas of the Present" (30 sheets) was published from 1951 to 1954, but his workforce sank. When his 22-year-old daughter suddenly died in 1958, he and his second wife committed suicide two years later.

In his hometown is the Shunsen Museum ( 春 仙 美術館 , Shunsen bijutsukan ).

Remarks

1. ↑ Hayano was one of the 47 samurai .

literature

• Lawrence Smith: Modern Japanese Prints 1912-1989. British Museum, 1994. ISBN 1-55859-871-5 .
• MOA Bijutsukan (Ed.): Kindai Nihon no mokuhanga. MOA Bijutsukan, 1983.

Web links

Commons : Natori Shunsen  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} 春 仙 美術館 . Minami-Alps, May 15, 2015, accessed December 22, 2015 (Japanese). 
2. ↑ Lucie Folan: Stars of the Tokyo Stage: Natori Shunsen's Kabuki Actor Prints . Ed .: National Gallery of Australia. 2012 ( digitized versionhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3D~GB%3DTyQatwAACAAJ~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided%3D~LT%3D~PUR%3D ).

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Natori is the family name, Shunsen the first name.