Koraiya Kinsho
1794
Medium
Color woodblock print; aiban
Dimensions
32.6 × 22.6 cm (12 7/8 × 8 15/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
18814
Art Historical Context
Step into the dramatic world of 18th-century Japanese kabuki theater with *Koraiya Kinsho*, a striking color woodblock print by the enigmatic artist Tōshūsai Sharaku, created in 1794. Sharaku, active for just a fleeting 10 months, produced around 150 portraits of kabuki actors—known as *yakusha-e*—that revolutionized ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" celebrating Edo-period (modern Tokyo) entertainment and urban life. This aiban-format print (taller than standard ōban) captures the onna-gata actor Koraiya Kinsho in a role blending grace and intensity, reflecting kabuki's stylized pe...
About the Artist
Tōshūsai Sharaku · 1794–1795
Tōshūsai Sharaku stands as one of the most enigmatic figures in Japanese art history, a ukiyo-e printmaker whose brilliant career blazed for just ten months from the summer of 1794 to early spring 1795. Active exclusively in Edo (modern Tokyo), he produced approximately 150 woodblock prints and sketches, primarily yakusha-e—intimate portraits of kabuki actors captured mid-performance. Published by...