Painting, From an untitled series of the Four Accomplishments

Two girls inspect a painting of an onnagata actor in this second print from the Four Accomplishments (kinkishoga) series by Toyoharu (see no. 64). On the floor are arranged brushes, a set of mineral pigments, and scrolls of paper; a set of smoking utensils rests on the floor behind them. A third girl holds up the painting in which the actor Segawa Kikunojō is identifiable by the bundled roving crest on one sleeve. Bush clover (hagi) blossoming in the garden beside a stone basin indicates that it is autumn, when the major Kabuki theaters staged their opening performances of the season. Founder of the Utagawa school, Toyoharu studied in the workshop of a professional Kano-school painter. This training may have contributed to his confident use of classical themes like the Four Accomplishments. Although Toyoharu is best known for architectural and landscape prints featuring Western perspective, the elegant figures and interior settings in this print recall the work of Suzuki Harunobu, who died in 1770, a few years prior to the production of this series.