The actor Bando Hikosaburo III as Sagisaka Sanai
1794
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
37.6 × 25.1 cm (14 13/16 × 9 15/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
87264
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo Japan (modern-day Tokyo), kabuki theater was a cultural phenomenon, blending drama, music, and spectacle. Tōshai Sharaku, a mysterious ukiyo-e artist active for just two years around 1794–95, captured this energy in his revolutionary woodblock prints. *The Actor Bandō Hikosaburō III as Sagisaka Sanai* (1794) portrays the star kabuki performer in the role of a scheming samurai from a popular play, showcasing Sharaku's signature yakusha-e (actor portrait) style. Produced as an oban-sized color woodblock print—measuring 37.6 × 25.1 cm—this accessible forma...
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...