The Actor Segawa Kikunojo Third as an Oiran
ca. 1780
Medium
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
12 7/32 x 5 3/4 in. (31.1 x 14.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
Accession Number
JP342
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glamorous world of Edo-period Japan with Katsukawa Shunshō's *The Actor Segawa Kikunojo Third as an Oiran (ca. 1780). This exquisite woodblock print captures the famed kabuki actor Segawa Kikunojo III, a master onnagata (femaleator), dressed as a high-ranking courtesan, or oiran. Shunshō, a leading figure in the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition and founder of the Katsukawa school, specialized in yakusha-e—lively portraits of theater stars that brought kabuki's drama to everyday viewers. Printed in the nishiki-e technique ("brocade pictures"), this small-scale...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese) · 1726 –1792
Japanese, 1726–1792