Ichikawa Yaozō II
ca. 1772
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Hosoe: 12 3/8 x 5 3/4 in. (31.4 x 14.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
JP2410
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the captivating woodblock print *Ichikawa Yaozō II* by Ippitsusai Bunchō, created around 1772 during Japan's vibrant Edo period (1615–1868). This intimate hosoe-format work (12 3/8 x 5 3/4 in.), rendered in ink and color on paper, portrays the famed kabuki actor Ichikawazō II, surrounded by lush plants that evoke the theatrical "floating world" of ukiyo-e. Bunchō, a master of this genre, skillfully captures the actor's poised elegance, blending portraiture with dramatic flair. Edo-era woodblock prints like this one revolutionized Japanese art, making celebrity imagery accessible to eve...
About the Artist
Ippitsusai Bunchō · 1730–1820
Ippitsusai Bunchō (active c. 1765–1792) stands as one of the pivotal figures in the development of ukiyo-e actor portraiture, a artist whose innovations fundamentally transformed how kabuki actors were depicted in Japanese woodblock prints. Working during what scholars often call the 'golden age of ukiyo-e,' Bunchō, along with his contemporary Katsukawa Shunshō, revolutionized the yakusha-e (actor...