Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as the Boatman Matsuemon, actually Higuchi Jiro Kanemitsu (Sendo Matsuemon, jissha Higuchi Jiro Kanemitsu)
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
236197
About the Artist
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) · 1786–1864
Utagawa Kunisada I, also known as Toyokuni III (1786–1865), was born Sumida Shōgorō in the Honjo district of Edo (modern Tokyo) into a family that operated a hereditary ferry-boat service, providing stability after his father's early death. Displaying prodigious talent in drawing from childhood, he became an apprentice to the master Utagawa Toyokuni I around 1801 at age fifteen, entering the prest...