"Tanaka Shakaru" poster by Japanese graphic designer Ikko Tanaka.

I'm completely new to Illustrator so I hope this will be nice and simple to recreate.

“Tanaka Sharaku” Poster by Ikko Tanaka

Update 14.05.13

Filled in the kanji using the pen tool

Update

Laying in some basic shapes

Update 16.05.13

Adding some detail to the eyebrows and face.