The Actor Sawamura Sojuro III Holding up a Piece of Brocade
Medium
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 12 11/16 in. (32.2 cm); W. 5 15/16 in. (15.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
JP1353
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Katsukawa Shunshō's *The Actor Sawamurajuro III Holding up a Piece Brocade* captures the flair of kabuki stars. Shunshō, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition and founder of the influential Katsukawa school, specialized in yakusha-e—striking portraits of actors in dynamic poses. Here, the renowned performer Sawamura Sōjūrō III dramatically holds aloft a shimmering brocade fabric, evoking the opulent costumes and expressive gestures central to kabuki drama. This nishiki-e woodblock print, meaning "brocade pict...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese) · 1726 –1792
Japanese, 1726–1792