The Actor Nakajima Mihoemon II as Bomon no Saisho Kiyotada in the Play Oyafune Taiheiki, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1775
c. 1775
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban
Dimensions
29.8 × 14.3 cm (11 3/4 × 5 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
31949
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo-period Japan, Katsukawa Shunsho's *The Actor Nakajima Mihoemon II as Bomon noisho Kiyotada in the Play Oyafune Taiheiki* captures a thrilling moment from Kabuki theater. Created around 1775, this color woodblock print depicts the actor in his role during a performance at the Ichimura Theater the eleventh lunar month. Shunsho, a leading figure in the Katsukawa school of ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), specialized in yakusha-e—dynamic portraits of kabuki stars that brought the drama of the stage to everyday viewers. Printed in the narrow hoso...