初代市川 男女蔵の桃井若狭之助|The Actor Ichikawa Omezō I as the Young Daimyo Momonoi Wakasanosuke
1795 (Kan’ei 7), 4th month
Medium
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ōban; Image: 14 1/2 × 9 3/4 in. (36.8 × 24.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914
Accession Number
JP916
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking woodblock print by Katsukawa Shun'ei captures Ichikawa Omezō I in the role of the young daimyo Momonoi Wakasanosuke, a character from a popular kabuki drama. Created in 1795 during the Edo period, the image belongs to the vibrant tradition of yakusha-e, or actor portraits, which celebrated the stars of Japan’s thriving theater scene. Shun'ei, a leading artist of the Katsukawa school, specialized in dynamic likenesses that conveyed both the actor’s distinctive features and the intensity of his stage persona. The print exemplifies nishiki-e, the full-color woodblock technique that...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shun'ei 勝川春英 (Japanese) · 1762 –1819
Japanese, 1762–1819