The Actor Nakamura Nakazo I as Kume no Heinaizaemon Disguised as the Street Fortune-teller Kosaka Jinnai, in the Play Kotobuki Banzei Soga, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Fifth Month, 1783
c. 1783
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban; center or right sheet of triptych
Dimensions
31.8 × 14.5 cm (12 1/2 × 5 11/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22142
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Japanese kab theater with Katsukawa Shunsho's *The Actor Nakamura Nakazo I Kume no Heinaemon Disguised as the Street Fortuneeller Kosaka Jinn, in the Play Kotobukizei Soga*. Created around 1783, this color woodblock print captures the star actor Nakamura Nakazo I in a dramatic disguise from the popular play *Kotobuki Banzei Soga*, performed Tokyo's Ichimura Theater in fifth lunar month. As the center or right sheet of a triptych in the narrow *hosoban* format (31.8 × 14.5 cm), it would have formed part of a larger, immersive scene when assembled. Sh...