Mimasu Tokujuro as a Woman Standing Near a Winding Stream
ca. 1780
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
11 3/5 x 5 3/8 in. (29.5 x 13.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1914
Accession Number
JP163
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Katsukawa Shunkō's *Mimasu Tokujūrō as a Woman Standing a Winding Stream* (ca. 1780) captures the theatrical flair of Kabuki drama. This woodblock print or *ukiyo-e* ("pictures of the floating world"), showcases the acclaimed actor Mimasu Tokūrō I, a master *onnagata*—a male performer specializing in female roles. Shunkō, a leading figure in the Katsukawa school, was renowned for his dynamic yakusha-e (actor portraits), blending sharp realism with expressive poses to immortalize stage stars. Rendered in ink and color on paper in the narrow...
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...