The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo II as Umeo-maru in the Play Ayatsuri Kabuki Ogi, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Seventh Month, 1768
c. 1768
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban; left sheet of triptych
Dimensions
41.3 × 29.5 cm (16 1/4 × 11 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
109396
Art Historical Context
This striking color woodblock print by Ippitsusai Buncho captures the dynamic world of Edo-period kabuki theater. Created around 1768, it portrays the actor Ichikawa Yaozo II in the role of Umeo-maru from the play *Ayatsuri Kabuki Ogi*, performed that summer at Tokyo’s Nakamura Theater. As the left panel of a triptych, the work would have formed part of a larger composition celebrating the production’s key performers, reflecting the era’s vibrant theater culture and the popularity of actor portraits among devoted fans. Buncho, active in the 1760s and 1770s, specialized in yakusha-e (actor pri...