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Subject:Reading of seal and character names Kabuki Shinpo no21
Posted By: Irwin Fri, Sep 18, 2026 IP: 174.127.209.134
Hi,
I've attached a copy of the illustration of a scene from the play Chūkō Somewake Tazuna 忠孝染分繮 staged at the Saruwakaza in 1879. The illustration appears on the cover of the June 26, 1879 issue of the theater magazine Kabuki Shinpō. I've also attached a detailed image of a square seal that appears on the illustration and an image of the two circular cartouches that identify the characters being portrayed by the two actors. It is likely that the character in the lower left is the main character in the play Date Shinzaemon 伊達新左衛門, as I can pretty clearly read the first two of the three characters in the cartouche: 左衛. However, the cartouche with the name of the character played by the second actor seems illegible. I've checked the list of characters recorded in the play and cannot correlate any of those character names with what appears within the circular cartouche. (It has been suggested to me that the character portrayed might be Shigenoi 重井, but I can't see any correlation between that name and what appears inside of the cartouche.) Your thoughts would be appreciated. The illustration itself is attributed by some to Torii Kiyomitsu III 三代目鳥居清満 which doesn't seem to align with the seal. Again, any assistance would be helpful. With thanks, Irwin.
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Reading of seal and character names Kabuki Shinpo no21 
( China & Japan ) - Irwin - Sep 18, 2026 (06:46 PM) 