NATORI SHUNSEN

(1886-1960)

and the series of 36 actors' portraits " Shunsen nigao-e shû "

Natori Shunsen ( 1886-1960 ) remains in the history of the japanese print  as the last master in kabuki actors' representation ,  essentially because of the quality of the major series of 36 portraits published between 1925 and 1929.

Natori Yoshinosuke, fifth son of a silk trader, was born in Meiji 20 ( 1886 ) in Yamanashi's prefecture. The family settled in Tokyo some months after its birth. He will live there until Showa 35 ( 1960 ).

The artistic training  began at the age of 11 years, in 1897. He  entered Kubota Beisei's ( 1852-1906 ) studio and of his son and follower Kubota Kinsen ( 1875-1954 ), both painters of traditional Japanese style ( nihon-ga ). Native of Kyoto, the first had based in 1890, with Konô Bairei " Kyôto Bijutsu Kyôkaï " ( Kyoto's artistic Association), before opening his studio in the new capital.

The young pupil changed then his name in Shunsen; he learnt with  Kawabata Ryûshi ( 1885-1966 ), Okamoto Ippei ( 1886-1948 ) and Okumura Dogyû ( 1889-1989 ), who will become recognized painters.

Natori Shunsen pursued his  training by entering the Art college of Tokyo, notably with Hirafuku Hyakusui ( 1877-1933 ), who influenced him  largely, and he could  enter " Museikai ", painters' Nihon-ga association, created in 1900 by pupils of Kawabata Gyokushô to promote naturalism, opposite to the romanticism defended by Nihon Bijutsuin. The association organized exhibitions until 1913; subjects were especially scenes of genres, paintings of farmers and employees.

Hirafuku Hyakushi was also , as Kubota Kinsei, member of Nihon Bijutsu Kyôkai ( traditional painters) and of Bunten, as well as Teiten. The magistery of this painter allowed Natori Shunsen, who looked for its own way, to meet number of contemporary artists, styles or different influences.

It is in painter of style nihon-ga that he  began his career. Several galleries of Tokyo exposed  his paintings, in particular of actors of kabuki. In 1917,he received a price for a painting inspired with the kabuki ( The scene) in " Nihon Bijutsuin ". He  gave up,he seems in 1919, to this shape of expression.

From 1907, and as his master Kubota Beisen, Natori Shunsen dedicated himself especially to the illustration of books and for newspapers. From 1909,he gave drawings for the literary column of Asahi Shinmbun. And so he met Natsume Sôseki ( 1867-1916 ) and illustrated some of the published news either in this newspaper, or in books.

Natori Shunsen's career knew a major evolution in 1915.This one, indeed, drew for the first time for the print, beside Yamamura Toyonari (1885-1942) Torii Kotondo ( 1900-1976 ) and Ishii Hakutei ( 1882-1958 ) for the publishing of " Shibai Shin Nagao-e " ( actors' new portraits). It was about five books of prints of small size, published with the aim of promoting the theater kabuki. Natori Shunsen gave 30 actors' portraits and two coverages; boards were engraved by Igami Bonkotsu.

From this moment, the kabuki became one of the essential subjects of his  work, but also one of the major constituents of his existence.

In 1916, the publisher Watanabe Shôzaburo ( 1885-1962 ) saw, exposed in a gallery, the portrait of the actor Nakamura Ganjiro in Kamiya Jihei's role. This Natori Shunsen's oil painting seduced the publisher, who was seeking for draftsmen for " Shin-Hanga ", and few artists,  wished to dedicate themselves to actors' representation.

So well, a print,  was made  by this painting from 1916. Next year, another board was published by Watanabe, from a Shunsen's second painting, showing Onoe Baiko in Otomi's role. In the famous series of 36 actors' portraits, Natori Shunsen showed again these two actors, among the most famous of time, but in the roles which they interpreted in 1925, Tojuro and Sayuri, respectively.

In a rather surprising way, Watanabe and Shunsen did not pursue this collaboration, the second preferring to dedicate itself again to the illustration of books.

Fate, however, gathers  them again in 1925, and this time for the publishing of a major work. In this date, Natori Shunsen had begun to draw a series of 36 actors' portraits for the publisher  Kikuchi Yoshimaru, but this one decided  to give up project to Watanabe. This can explain itself by the fact which such a series, published in a luxurious way and over several years, represented a too heavy investment for the first publisher.

" Shunsen nigao-e shû ", (actors' portraits by Shunsen) includes  so 36 actors' portraits in their roles, most in " okubi-e " (28 exactly) and someone some in foot ( 8 ). It was about an initially monthly edition; really rhythm was not perfectly respected,and prints  were published over five years from 1925 till 1929, but 36 numbers announced at first were effectively published.

Watanabe took a stand of a small edition, 150 copies only, sold only by subscription as in Japan as in West. The completeness of the offer was not covered from the very beginning. This underlined the exceptional and luxurious character of such a publication, every print being presented in a folder of thick paper, containing, written in black ink, the mentions of the name of the actor and the interpreted role.

Technically, these prints  are perfect: no defect either in the carving or in the printing. They contain for many mica-bearing, white, grey, or colour, bokashis (degraded with colours), relief parts. These  prints  concentrated of every best that  the draftsmen, the engravers, printers and publishers  were able to give to the print of Japan besides two centuries.

The work of Shunsen joined the lineage of Kunimasa and Toyokuni's certain productions, in the end of 18-th century. They are indeed the lines  of faces, and especially the glances of the actors which are in evidence. Production is not close to Sharaku's prints, because the drawing does not borrow  from the caricature to underline the essential lines of the game of the comedians. Every portrait constitutes a shock for the one that contemplates him it. Then in a second time, shows through the psychology of the actors, their extreme concentration in the strongest moments of the course of their persons.

These 36 prints are today considered by the criticism as the best of  " the golden age " of " Shin-hanga ".

Complete series was exposed to Toledo's museum, to the United States, in 1930. This very important exhibition,which stood out profoundly in the field of the knowledge in West of the Japanese art of the beginning of 20-th century, was organized by Yoshida Hiroshi and Dorothy Blair, American who had studied with him in Tokyo.

On the whole, 336 prints were then exposed, of ten artists: Hashuyuki Goyô, Itô Shinsui, Kawase Hasui, Miki Suizan, Natori Shunsen, Oda  Kazuma, Ohara Shoson, Yamamura Toyonari, Yoshida Hiroshi, Yoshikawa Kanpô.  All were alive, safe Goyô, all arose from workshops of Watanabe and Satô Shôtaro, except Goyô and Yoshida who published  their prints themselves. It was about an exhibition and sale, and many works entered the collections of museums or personnal.

In front of the success taken away  by the series of Shunsen, several sets  of which were sold in 1930, this one realized, always with Watanabe, a publishing of 15 actors' prints with the aim of the second exhibition of Toledo which held in 1936 (these prints were mainly realized from 1931).

It is likely that " Shunsen nigao-e shû " was not exposed  in Japan before the third exhibition of Watanabe Shozaburo in 1932. Natori Shunsen had been so known, in Europe and in the United States before to be him in Japan, even though, naturally, some of the signers of 1925 were Japanese.

In spite of this success,  Natori Shunsen did not totally dedicate himself to the print during years 1920-1930. In 1928, he gave three prints of bijins (woman in foot in front of a mirror, squatted woman reflecting, maiko adjusting the hairstyle) to Watanabe, this one publishing on the whole 86 works of this artist. Besides, some Shunsen's prints (women and dancers) were published by Kato Junji in the end of 1920's.

If, in 1930 , Natori Shunsen became the secretary of Nihon Gekiga Kyôkai (association of the Japanese painters of the theater), it seems although the artist liked more the  kabuki than the drawing in the second part of the career. He continued to work in the environment of the theater, to 1950's, but without producing of prints or painting.

However, he gave between 1951 and 1954 a last series of prints of actors' portraits of kabuki " Shin oof stumbled no sugata-e ", which does not equal, in force or in inspiration, that of the years 1925-1929.

Natori Shunsen had the tragic end. Together with his  second wife, he committed suicide by poison, in 1960 , on the domestic grave of Tokyo, not having been able to support  the death of his daughter Yoshiko, taken by a pneumonia in 1958, at the age of 22 years.

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