Buncho (active 1765 - 1792)
Yamashita Kyonosuke in a Back-mask Dance(Reprint)
Reproduction C.1960
Sheet size 31 x 14 cm
 
 Intriguing kabuki portrait of the actor Yamashita Kyonosuke performing a fox dance in the play "Edo no Hana Wakayagi Soga." He wears a fox mask on the back of his head and carries a small chime which he taps with a slender wooden mallet. He strikes a pose beneath a blossoming cherry tree as delicate white petals drift down over him. An interesting design with beautiful bokashi shading on the sky, rarely seen in reprint.
 
Woodblock reprints - In the 20th century, artists and publishers collaborated to recreate famous woodblock prints for interested Japanese collectors and Westerners looking for rare designs. New blocks were made, and the prints were painstakingly printed by artisan printers in the same method as the 19th century originals - one block for each color. Woodblock reprints were an opportunity to collect and enjoy a famous design at a small fraction of the price of an original. They still are today.