Scene from the kabuki play 'Imashimagusa koi kusemono' 誡ぐさ恋は偸児 - 1875 - Utagawa Morikawa Chikashige (act. ca. 1869-82) - Japan - Meiji period (1868-1912) See Tokyo Metropolitan Library: https://archive.library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/da/detail?tilcod=0000000003-00051575 The signature says “Chikashige-e”守川周重筆”. Original woodblock print.It was made by Morikawa Chikashige. Reasonable condition, sheets secured together, wear. This woodblock print is pasted with paper to increase its strength. Nakamura Shigan 中村芝翫 playing the role of “Kitsune tadanobu” きつね忠信 Iwai Hanshirou 岩井半四郎 playing the role of “Shizukagozen”しずか御前 Nakamura Tokizou 中村時蔵 playing the role of “Inga kzou rokunosuke” 因果小僧六之助 Nakamura Nakazou 中村仲蔵 playing the role of “Inga kzou Shoubei” 因果小兵衛 Iwai Hanshirou 岩井半四郎 playing the role of “Nyoubou osono”女房おその memo A contemporary of his teacher Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900), from whom he took the first character 周 (chika) for his main art name (gō) Chikashige, the artist worked in a style similar to his teacher, specializing in three-sheet (triptych) compositions of kabuki actors and plays (yakusha-e). No information is available about his life, except that he was originally named Otojirō 音次郎 or 音治郎 (a name which occasionally appears on his prints.).