Actor Ichikawa Ebijà «rà  as Samurai is an ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock print by Osaka-based late Edo period print designer (fl. c. 1822-1830). The print depicts a scene from a kabuki play featuring Osaka actor in the role of a samurai. One impression of the print belongs to the permanent collection of the Prince Takamado Gallery of Japanese Art in the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.
(fl. 1822âÂÂ1830) was a Japanese ukiyo-e designer in Osaka. He was a member of the Shunkà Âsai Fukushà « school, and a student of . He used the gà  art names (1822âÂÂ1824), (1824-1830), . He was not very prolific, and all of his few surviving images are yakusha-e kabuki actor portraits.
Hokuchà Â's works are categorized as , a term used to distinguish prints produced in the Kamigata area (Kyoto and Osaka) from those produced in Edo. Kamigata-e were mainly images of kabuki actors, and were produced almost exclusively by amateur "talented kabuki fans" promoting their favourite actors.
The print displays two publisher seals. On the right is the mark of or , commonly known as . The firm operated in Osaka from 1816 into the 1850s, and published works by Gigadà  Ashiyuki, Konishi Hirosada, Shunbaisai Hokuei, Sadamasu and Ryusai Shigeharu among others. Tenki used various publisher seals. This version features the kanji character 天 (ten) followed by the katakana character ã (ki) within a rectangle.
On the left, is one of at least three variants of the hanmoto used by , which, between 1822 and 1824, produced images by artists such as Ashiyuki Gigadà Â, Hokushà «, Kunihiro and Shibakuni. The seal on this print is the kanji character 帠(ichi) under a stylized double mountain (pron. yama).
The inscription to the right of the figure names him as actor Ichikawa Ebijà «rà  [å¸Âå·Âè¦åÂÂéÂÂ] in the role of Hangandai Terukuni [å¤å®Â代è¼Âå½]. The date of the print indicates that this is Ebijà «rà  I (c. 1777âÂÂ1827), the first of seven generations of actors whose line ended in 1929.
Born in Osaka, Ebijà «rà  I was a (male role) and (villain role) performer who appeared on the Osaka, Kyoto and Edo stages. He is noted for performing up to seven roles within a single play, as well as for impressive fight scenes and costume changes.
The print depicts a scene from the history play (The Secrets of Calligraphy), "one of the 3 great masterpieces of Gidayà «-kyà Âgen" (義太夫çÂÂè¨Â). Originally written in 1746 for the puppet theatre by Takeda Izumo I, Miyoshi Shà Âraku, Namiki Senryà « I and Takeda Izumo II, it was first staged for kabuki the following year. The five-act play centres on , a tragic hero from the Heian period. Hangandai Terukuni is a minor character who acts as Sugawara's escort and as a representative of the retired Emperor Uda. Hokuchà Â's print commemorates a performance of the play at Osaka's Kado no Shibai theatre in the third month of 1823.
Ebijà «rà  is captured in a dramatic mie pose. He stands barefoot, feet planted wide apart, body bent forward at the waist. With a serious expression, he stares into the distance with his body angled in three quarter profile to the right. He appears to have been startled into a defensive pose. His right hand is raised above his head, and in the top-right corner of the image is a -type fan in mid-flight subsequent to having been tossed into the air. His left hand grips the sheath of one of the two swords on his left side, the customary position for samurai.
He wears a dark outer-kimono from which his arms have been removed to increase his mobility. On the upper half of the kimono hanging down below his waist is the character "è¼Â", which starts the name ". His yellow under-kimono is patterned with butterflies or moths. His hair is arranged in a chonmage top-knot, and the string visible around his head indicates that his eboshi hat has been knocked back.
The print's background is completely blank and coloured yellow, which was a particularly common choice for Hokuchà Â.
Along the right side of the print is an inscription written in a style of Japanese calligraphy known as cursive script. , which translates literally as 'grass writing', is a highly stylized form of writing which is typically difficult for those not specifically trained to decipher. Hokuchà Â's inscription appears as five vertical columns at various heights containing two or three kanji or hiragana characters each. It is read from top to bottom, right to left. A partial transcription is as follows:
Versions of this print belong to the permanent collections of the following institutions:
Hangandai Terukuni is a popular subject in late Edo period ukiyo-e. He appears in many prints including: