Archer in Wolf Skin

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In this captivating kabuki triptych depicting a scene from the play "Jiraiya goketsu monogatari," the left panel features Takasago Yuminosuke, an archer donned in a wolf skin over his armor, fiercely gripping his bow.&nbsp; </span> <br> <br><span style="font-weight: 400;">The snarling mouth and glowing yellow eyes of the wolf add a daunting aspect to the warrior. In the central panel, Ichikawa Danjuro embodies the magician Jiraiya, adorned in an impressive vest with a bird on his shoulders, layered over a dragon-print robe and armor.&nbsp; </span> <br> <br><span style="font-weight: 400;">Danjuro's solemn gaze is fixed ahead as he reaches for his sword. On the right, Nakamura Shikan IV takes on the role of the samurai Yasha Goro, unsheathing his blade with a menacing glare directed at Yuminosuke.&nbsp; </span> <br> <br><span style="font-weight: 400;">The setting exudes a dramatic atmosphere, with a sparse silhouette of pine trees against the dark night sky. This triptych showcases a striking design by Kunichika.</span> <br> <br><span style="font-weight: 400;">This print showcases remarkable color and detail across three attached panels, each backed with paper. Though there are minor imperfections, including repaired small tears and losses at the top edge, as well as slight toning, soiling, and a few creases, the overall condition is considered good. Refer to the attached photos for a closer look at these details.</span> <br> <br>These Woodblock Prints were created using the traditional <a href="https://www.cottage9.com/art-technique/art-of-japanese-woodblock-printing/">Japanese Woodblock Printing technique,</a> much like the way we use rubber stamps today. <br> <br>The text or image was first drawn onto washi (Japanese paper), then glued face-down onto a plank of wood, usually cherry. Wood was then cut away, based on the drawing outlines. A small wooden hard object called a baren was used to press or burnish the paper against the inked woodblock to apply the ink to the paper. Although this may have been done purely by hand at first, complex wooden mechanisms were soon invented and adopted to help hold the woodblock perfectly still and apply proper pressure in the printing process. This was especially helpful with the introduction of multiple colours that had to be applied with precision over previous ink layers. <br> <br>While, again, text was nearly always monochrome, as were images in books, the growth of the popularity of ukiyo-e brought with it demand for ever increasing numbers of colours and complexity of techniques. <br> <br>These prints are rendered using Nishiki-e ("brocade pictures") —a method of using multiple blocks for separate portions of the image, using a number of colours to achieve complex and detailed images. A separate block was carved to apply only the part of the image designated for a single colour.