The actor Nakamura Nakazo as a rokuju-rokubu (pilgrim to Buddhist temple)
ca. 1780
Medium
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
12 1/4 x 5 7/8 in. (31.1 x 14.9 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
JP2690
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan with Katsukawa Shunshō's *The Actor Nakamura Nakazō as a Rokuju-rokubu (Pilgrim to Buddhist Temple)*, a stunning woodblock print from around 1780. This nishiki-e, or "brocade picture," captures famous kabuki actor Nakamura Nakō in the guise of a devoted pilgrim undertaking the sacred 88-temple circuit on Shikoku Island—though the title playfully nods to the "66 provinces" pilgrimage motif. Shunshō, a master of the Katsukawa school, excels in yakusha-e (actor prints), rendering Nakazō's expressive face and dynamic pose with remarkable realism and ...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese) · 1726 –1792
Japanese, 1726–1792