The Actors
Medium
Monochrome woodblock print; ink on paper
Dimensions
H. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); W. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP1775
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Ippitsusai Bunchō crafted *The Actors*, a captivating monochrome woodblock print that exemplifies the ukiyo-e—"pictures of the floating world."ō, active in the mid-18th century, was for his yakusha-e (actor prints), vividly capturing kabuki theater stars in dynamic poses. This ink-on-paper work, measuring about 10 by 13 inches, likely depicts performers amid stylized plants, blending human drama with natural motifs to evoke the theatrical spectacle that enthralled urban audiences in Edo (modern Tokyo). The monochrome technique, known as su...
About the Artist
Ippitsusai Bunchō · 1730–1820
Ippitsusai Bunchō (active c. 1765–1792) stands as one of the pivotal figures in the development of ukiyo-e actor portraiture, a artist whose innovations fundamentally transformed how kabuki actors were depicted in Japanese woodblock prints. Working during what scholars often call the 'golden age of ukiyo-e,' Bunchō, along with his contemporary Katsukawa Shunshō, revolutionized the yakusha-e (actor...