The Actor Ichikawa Danjuro V as Taira no Masakado Disguised as the Pilgrim Junjo in the Play Masakado Kammuri no Hatsuyuki, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1777
c. 1777
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban; left sheet of triptych
Dimensions
33 × 15 cm (13 × 5 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
31547
Art Historical Context
This vibrant color woodblock by Katsukawa Shunshō the renowned kabuki actor Ichikawajūrō V in a dramatic role from the1777 play *Masado Kammuri nouyuki*. Created as left sheet of a triych in the narrow *oban* format, it portrays the historical warrior Taira no Masado disguised as the pilgr Junjo. Shunshō, a leading in the Katsukawa school, specialized in portraits that brought the excitement of Edo’s to a wider audience through affordable prints. Produced shortly after the at the Nakamura Theater, work reflects the golden age of ukiyo-e and the growing popularity of kabuki in 18th-century Jap...