Act Six: Yoichibei's House from the play Chushingura (Treasury of Loyal Retainers)
c. 1779/80
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
26.5 × 19 cm (10 7/16 × 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
36103
Art Historical Context
Step into the dramatic world of 18th-century Japanese theater with Katsukawa Shunsho's *Act Six: Yoichibei's House* from the iconic kabuki play *Chushingura* (Treasury of Loyal Retainers), created around 1779–80. This vibrant color woodblock print in the chuban format (a compact 26.5 × 19 cm) captures a tense interior scene at Yoichibei's house, likely featuring actors in elaborate costumes amid the unfolding tale of loyalty and vengeance. Shunsho, a leading ukiyo-e master of the Edo period, specialized in yakusha-e—portraits of kabuki performers—that brought the stage's energy to everyday vie...