Posted by Alec W. (76.98.178.51) on July 04, 2018 at 23:35:29:
In Reply to: woodblock posted by Bob Smith on July 04, 2018 at 20:26:15:
The "paired" Nanushi censor seals date the original publication to 1847-1852; see: http://www.japanesepotterymarks.info/censor_seals.php
The artist here is Kunisada, signing "Kōchōrō Toyokuni ga".
The text next to the actor appears to read 「早ノ勘平」(usually spelled 「早野勘平」) , which is the name "Hayano Kanpei", the name of a character in the play "Kanadehon Chūshingura" ("The Treasury of Loyal Retainers"; a.k.a. "The Forty-Seven Ronin").