The Actor Ichikawa Omezo I as Tomita Hyotaro (Shodai Ichikawa Omezo no Tomita Hyotaro)
Tōshūsai Sharaku
1794 (Kansei 6)
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban, nishiki-e
Dimensions
31.5 × 13.3 cm (12 7/16 × 5 1/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
86925
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...