The Actor Bando Hikosaburo II as Fujitaro, disguised as the ferryman Tomokichi, in the play "Shomei Mugen no Kane," performed at the Nakamura Theater in the ninth month, 1767
Kitao Shigemasa
1767
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
Dimensions
30.5 × 13.7 cm (12 × 5 3/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22408
About the Artist
Kitao Shigemasa · 1739–1820
Kitao Shigemasa (1739–1820), born in the bustling Nihonbashi district of Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing during Japan's Edo period. The eldest son of the bookseller Suharaya Mohei—from a lineage of publishers—Shigemasa, originally named Kitabatake Tarōkichi, was immersed in the world of printing from youth. Largely self-taught, he later studied under t...