The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo II as Yoshimine no Munesada in the Play Kuni no Hana Ono no Itsumoji, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1771
c. 1771
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban
Dimensions
32.5 × 14.7 cm (12 13/16 × 5 13/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21960
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Japanese theater with Ippitsusai Buncho's *The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo as Yoshimine no Mada in the Play K no Hana Ono no Itoji*. Created around 1771, this color woodblock print captures the star kabuki performer at the Nakamura Theater during the eleventh month. Buncho, a leading ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, masterfully renders Yaozo II in dramatic pose, embodying the tragic hero from this popular play—part of the "floating world" genre that celebrated fleeting pleasures like theater and celebrity. Printed in the narrow hosoban format (32.5 × 14.7...