The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon IX as Fuwa Banzaemon in the Play Keisei Nagoya Obi, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Eighth Month, 1771

Art Historical Context

Step into the dazzling world of 18th-century Japanese kabuki theater with Katsukawa Shunsho's *The Actor Ichimura Uza IX as Fuwa Bemon in the Play Keisei Nagoya Obi*. Created around 1771, this color woodblock print captures the star Ichimura Uzaemon IX in his role from a performance at the Ichimura Theater in Edo (modern Tokyo). Rendered in the narrow hosoban format—measuring just 29.2 × 13.9 cm—this intimate print likely formed part of a larger multisheet composition, allowing collectors to assemble panoramic scenes of theatrical grandeur. Shunsho, a leading figure in the ukiyo-e ("pictures ...