The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon IX
1769 (early)
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
12 1/8 x 5 1/4 in. (30.8 x 13.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
JP2652
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan *The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon IX*, a captivating woodblock print by Kitao Shigemasa from 1769. This hosoban-format piece (12 1/8 x 5 1/4 in.) showcases the renowned kabuki performer in a dynamic pose, blending ink and color on paper to capture the fleeting glamour of theater life. Shigemasa, a master ofkiyo-e—"pictures of the floating world"—led in yakusha-e, or actor prints, which immortalized stars like Uzaemon IX during Japan's golden age of entertainment (Edo period, 1615–1868). Kabuki theater was a cultural phenomenon, drawing massive crowds ...
About the Artist
Kitao Shigemasa · 1739–1820
Kitao Shigemasa (1739–1820), born in the bustling Nihonbashi district of Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing during Japan's Edo period. The eldest son of the bookseller Suharaya Mohei—from a lineage of publishers—Shigemasa, originally named Kitabatake Tarōkichi, was immersed in the world of printing from youth. Largely self-taught, he later studied under t...