The actor Sakata Hangoro III as Fujikawa Mizuemon
1794
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
37.3 × 23.9 cm (14 11/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
18756
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of18th-century Japanese kabuki theater with Tōshūsai Sharaku's *The Actor Sakata Hangorō III as Fujikawa Mizuemon (1794). This woodblock print, anan-sized masterpiece measuring 37.3 × 23.9 cm, the intensity of Hangorō III in the role of the tragic samurai Fujikawa Mizuemon from a popular play. Produced during Japan's Edo period, it exemplifies ukiyo-e—the "pictures of the floating world"—a genre celebrating fleeting pleasures like theater, where kabuki stars were celebrities akin to modern idols. Sharaku, a enigmatic artist active for just two years (1794–1795), re...
About the Artist
Tōshūsai Sharaku · 1794–1795
Tōshūsai Sharaku stands as one of the most enigmatic figures in Japanese art history, a ukiyo-e printmaker whose brilliant career blazed for just ten months from the summer of 1794 to early spring 1795. Active exclusively in Edo (modern Tokyo), he produced approximately 150 woodblock prints and sketches, primarily yakusha-e—intimate portraits of kabuki actors captured mid-performance. Published by...