勝川春好画 三代目瀬川菊之丞・二代目市川門之助|Kabuki Actors Segawa Kikunojō III and Ichikawa Monnosuke II and Two Courtesans Celebrating the New Year
ca. 1790s
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
15 3/16 x 10 1/4 in. (38.6 x 26 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Henry L. Phillips Collection, Bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939
Accession Number
JP2830
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunkō created around the 1790s Japan's Edo period (1615–1868), captures a joyful New Year's celebration featuring two renowned Kabuki actors: Seg Kikunojō III Ichikawa Monnosuke. Dressed as elegant courtesans amid bamboo decorations—a symbol of prosperity and good fortune—the figures exude festive cheer. Shunkō, a master of the Katsukawa school, specialized in yakusha-e (actor prints), immortalizing the stars of Kabuki theater in dynamic, expressive poses. Ukiyo-e prints like this one, produced through a meticulous collaborative process of carving, p...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunkō
Katsukawa Shunkō I (1743–1812) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who pioneered the ōkubi-e (large-head) portrait format in kabuki actor prints and served as possibly the first student of Katsukawa Shunshō, the founder of the influential Katsukawa school. Born in 1743, Shunkō spent his entire life in Edo (modern Tokyo), working as both a painter and ukiyo-e printmaker specializing in yakusha-e (actor p...