The Actors Ichikawa Yaozo II as Yoshimine no Munesada (right), Yoshizawa Sakinosuke III as Shizuya (center), and Nakamura Matsue I as Sakuragi (left), in the Play Kuni no Hana Ono no Itsumoji, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1771
c. 1772
Medium
Color woodblock print; from the illustrated book Yakusha Kuni no Hana (Prominent Actors of Japan)
Dimensions
17.1 × 27.2 cm (6 3/4 × 10 11/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88392
Art Historical Context
Step into the dazzling world of 18th Japanese kabuki theater with this vibrant color woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunshō (1726–1792). Created around 1772, it portrays three star actors from the play *Kuni no Hana no Itsumoji*, at the Nakamura Theater in eleventh month of 177: Ichikawa Yaozō II as Yoshimine no Munesada (right), Yoshizawa Sakuke III as Shiz (center), and Nakamuraue I as Sakuragi (left). Measuring just 17.1 × 27.2 cm, this intimate scene is a page from the illustrated book *Yakusha Kuni no Hana* (Prominent Actors of Japan), celebrating the era's theatrical luminaries. Shunshō, ...