The Actor Yamashita Mangiku I as Osan in the Play Kitekaeru Nishiki no Wakayaka, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1780
c. 1780
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban
Dimensions
29.5 × 14 cm (11 5/8 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22168
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Japanese theater with this striking color woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunkō, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition. Titled *The Actor Yamashita Mangiku I as Osan in the Play Kitekaeru Nishiki no Wakayaka, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1780*, it captures the onnagata (female role specialist) Yamashita Mangiku I in his role as Osan. Produced around 1780, this hosoban—a narrow, vertical format measuring just 29.5 × 14 cm—allowed for affordable, intimate depictions of kabuki stars, making theater culture accessible to everyday Ed...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunkо̄ · 1743–1812
Katsukawa Shunkō I (1743–1812), born Denjiro Kiyokawa in Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing. His early life remains sparsely documented, but by the late 1760s, he had begun illustrating books such as *Talks about Debut Plays* (*Kaomise shibai banashi*, 1766). Shunkō studied under the master Katsukawa Shunshō, founder and leader of the Katsukawa school, an...