The Actor Segawa Kikunojo II as Shizuka Gozen (?)
c. 1767
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
Dimensions
31.1 × 13.6 cm (12 1/4 × 5 3/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22505
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of18th-century Edo-period Japan with Torii Kiyonaga's *The Actor Segawa Kikuno II as Shizukazen* (c. 1767). This charming woodblock print captures the kabuki actor Segawa Kikunojo in the role of Shizuka Go, the loyal consort of the legendary warrior Minamoto no Yoshune from Japanese folklore. Kiyonaga, a master of the Torii school renowned for yakusha-e (actor portraits), brings the theater's drama to life in this intimate depiction, highlighting the onnagata tradition where male actors specialized in female roles. Printed in the narrow hosoban format—ideal for aff...
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...