The Actor Nakamura Tomijuro in the Role of Sayohime Disguised as Hanamasu
1773
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
11 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (28.9 x 13.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Accession Number
JP718
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Torii Kiyon's 1773 woodblock printThe Actor Nakamura Tomij in the Role of Sayohime Disguised asamasu* captures the flair of kabuki drama. This intimate hosoban-format print (11 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.) depicts the renowned onnagata actor Nakamura Tomuro I, a male performer specializing in female roles, as the disguised heroine Sayohime, masquerading as the courtesan Hanamasu. Kiyonaga, a leading figure in the Torii school of ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), masterfully blends realism and stylization to immortalize the star's expressive p...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...