"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.
