The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon IX as Soga no Goro Tokimune Disguised as Agemaki no Sukeroku in the Play Sukeroku Yukari no Edo-zakura, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Fifth Month, 1782
c. 1782
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban; from a pentaptych (?)
Dimensions
32.2 × 14.8 cm (12 11/16 × 5 13/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
31862
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo theater with Katsukawa Shunsho's *The Actor Ichimura Uza IX as Soga no Goro Tokimune Disguised as Agemaki Sukeroku in the Play Sukerokuari no Edo-zakura Created around 1782, this color woodblock print captures the kabuki performer in a dramatic disguise from the popular play staged at the Ichimura Theater fifth month. Shunsho, a master of uki-e—the "pictures of the floating world"—excelled in yakusha-e, or actor portraits, immortalizing the charisma and intensity of stage idols for everyday fans. Printed in the narrow hosoban format (32.2 × 14.8...