The Actor Nakamura Sukegoro II as the Sumo Wrestler Matano no Goro in the Play Myoto-giku Izu no Kisewata, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1770
c. 1770
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban; right sheet of triptych
Dimensions
30.8 × 13.6 cm (12 1/8 × 5 3/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
89170
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo theater with Katsukawa Shunsho's *The Actor Nakamura Sukegoro as the Sumo Wrest Matano no Goro Created around 1770, this color woodblock print captures the star kabuki actor in his role from the play *Myoto-giku Izu no Kisewata performed at Tokyo's Ichimura Theater in eleventh lunar month. Shunsho, leading figure in the Katsukawa school ukiyo-e—"pictures of the floating world"—excelled in yakusha-e, or actor portraits, that brought the drama of kabuki stages to everyday fans. Printed in the narrow hosoban format (30.8 × 13.6 cm), this is the rig...