The Actor Matsumoto Koshiro IV as the Wealthy Bumpkin from Yamato, Actually Magoemon of Ninokuchi Village (Yondai-me Matsumoto Koshiro no Yamato no Yabo Daijin, jitsuwa Ninokuchi-mura Magoemon)
1794 (Kansei 6)
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban, nishiki-e
Dimensions
31.2 × 14.6 cm (12 5/16 × 5 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
18829
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo (modern Tokyo), Tōshūsai Sharaku captured the dramatic essence of kabuki theater with this striking 1794 woodblock. It portrays the renowned actor Matsumoto Kōshirō IV in the role of the "Wealthy Bumpkin fromato," revealed as the cunning Magoemon ofokuchi Village—a comic yet sly character from a popular kabuki play. Sharaku, a mysterious artist active for just 10 months, produced around 150 such yakusha-e (actor prints), revolutionizing the genre with his unflinching realism and psychological depth. This hosoban-format nishiki-e, or "brocade picture," ...
About the Artist
Tōshūsai Sharaku · 1794–1795
Tōshūsai Sharaku stands as one of the most enigmatic figures in Japanese art history, a ukiyo-e printmaker whose brilliant career blazed for just ten months from the summer of 1794 to early spring 1795. Active exclusively in Edo (modern Tokyo), he produced approximately 150 woodblock prints and sketches, primarily yakusha-e—intimate portraits of kabuki actors captured mid-performance. Published by...