Natori Shunsen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Natori Shunsen (名取春仙? 1886-1960) is considered by many to be the last master in the art of kabuki yakusha-e–literally, “actor pictures”. He was born in Yamanashi Prefecture, but his family settled in Tokyo shortly after his birth, and he remained there until his tragic death in 1960.
Shunsen developed an interest in kabuki actor portraits while working as an illustrator for the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. During this time, he had the opportunity to meet the publisher Shozaburo Watanabe, who was the primary force behind the shin hanga movement.
In 1925, Shunsen and Watanabe worked together on a series of 36 actor portraits. This series contains some of Shunsen's finest kabuki designs. Watanabe lavishly produced each print in a limited edition of 150 and sold them only by subscription. The series lasted through 1929, followed by a supplemental series of 15 actor prints produced through 1931.
Shunsen's actor portraits were mainly in the okubi-e (large head) format which allowed him to focus on the expression and emotions of the character's face.
Shunsen continued to work as an artist in the kabuki theater, but did not design any other actor prints until the early 1950's. From 1951 to 1954, he again collaborated with Watanabe on another series of 30 actor prints. Like the earlier series, these designs were beautifully printed and are very expressive, especially the okubi-e portrait.
