Memorial prints (Shini-e)

Part I

Memorial prints, also called “death prints” and “shini-e” commemorated the death of actors, artists and musicians, but the vast majority commemorated kabuki actors. They typically portray the recently deceased actor in light blue robes (shini sôzoku), and often include such information as the date of death, age, posthumous Buddhist name (kaimyô), and place of burial. The largest production of memorial prints followed the suicide of Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII on August 8, 1854. Many memorial prints are unsigned, and were produced by artists of very modest talent in response to a large demand from the deceased actor’s fans.

	Actor: Bandô Mitsugorô III Date: 1831 Publisher: Matsumura Tatsuemon
Actors: Memorial portraits of actors Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞, left) and Bandô Mitsugorô III (坂東三津五郎, right) Play: Theater: Date: 1^st month of 1832 Publisher: Kawaguchi-ya Chôzô
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) Date: 1832 Publisher: Kawaguchi-ya Chôzô
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) Date: 1832 Publisher: Yamaguchi-ya Tobei
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) Date: 1832 Publisher: Kawaguchi-ya Chôzô
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) holding Buddhist prayer beads Date: 1^st month of 1832 Publisher: Izumi-ya Ichibei
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) Date: 1832 Publisher: Shimizu-ya
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) Date: 1832 Publisher: Oden
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V sitting with incense Date: 1832 Publisher: Izumi-ya Ichibei
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) with prayer beads and butterflies Date: 1832 Publisher: Kaga-ya Kichiyemon
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) seated with incense Date: 1832 Publisher: Jôshû-ya Kinzô
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) Date: 1832 Publisher: Kawaguchi-ya Chôzô
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞) Date: 1832 Publisher: Matsumura Tatsuemon I am grateful to Marc Devriese for this image
	Actor: Bandô Mitsugorô III (坂東三津五郎, top) and Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞, bottom) Date: 1832 Publisher: Yamaguchi-ya Tobei
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞, left) and Bandô Mitsugorô III (坂東三津五郎, right) Date: 1^st month of 1832 Publisher: Kawaguchi-ya Chôzô
	Actor: Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞), Bandô Mitsugorô III (坂東三津五郎) and Sawamura Tanosuke II (沢村田之助) Date: 1832 Publisher: Ezaki-ya Tatsuzô
Actor: Diptych showing Segawa Kikunojô V (瀬川菊之丞, left) and Bandô Mitsugorô III (坂東三津五郎, right) Date: 1832 Publisher: Ezaki-ya Tatsuzô
Actor: Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII Date: 1854 Publisher: No seal NOTE: This print shows women mourning the suicide of actor Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII. The composition of this print is normally used to portray the death of the Buddha. Animals are frequently included among the Buddha’s mourners, and in this unsigned print, the single crying cat server as Kuniyoshi’s signature.
	Actor: Sawamura Chôjûrô V (Sawamura Sôjûrô V), possibly a memorial portrait reprising the role of Yoshida Matsuwakamaru in the play Hatsuzakura Onoe Iwafuji Date: c. 1850 Publisher: 与 under a single mountain is identified as Hori Takichi of Yushima in Kuniyoshi by B. W. Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961), but as Ôta-ya Takichi in Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium by Andreas Marks (Hotei Publishing, Leiden, 2011)
	Actor: Possibly a memorial print of an unidentified actor in the role of Nichiren Date: 1850 Publisher: 与 under a single mountain is identified as Hori Takichi of Yushima in Kuniyoshi by B. W. Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961), but as Ôta-ya Takichi in Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium by Andreas Marks (Hotei Publishing, Leiden, 2011) NOTE: This print is part of an untitled series of prints showing busts of actors in front of archery targets
	Title: Ken of the Three Buddhas (Sanbutsu ken) Actors: Onoe Matsunosuke (standing left), Ichimura Uzaemon XII (sitting) and Matsumoto Kôshirô VI (right) Date: 10^th month of 1851 Publisher: No seal
	Title: Ken of the Three Buddhas (Sanbutsu ken) Actors: Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII (standing left), Ichimura Uzaemon XII (sitting) and Nakamura Utaemon IV (right) Date: 1854 Publisher: No seal

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