The Actors Nakamura Riko I as Tanbaya Otsuma and Ichikawa Yaozo III as Furuteya Hachirobei, in the joruri "Sakamachi Yoi no Yotsutsuji," performed at the Nakamura Theater in the third month, 1785
1785
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
38.5 × 25.9 cm (15 3/16 × 10 1/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22805
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling world of 18th Edo theater with Torii Kiyonaga's woodblock print, *The Actors Nakamura Riko I as Tanbaya Otsuma and Ichikawa Yaozo III as Furuteya Hachirobei*. Created in 1785 to commemorate a performance of the jor drama *Sakamachi Yoi no Yotsutsuji* at the famed Nakamura Theater, this oban-format print (38.5 × 25.9 cm) captures the stars in dynamic poses, their elaborate costumes and expressive faces frozen mid-scene. Kiyonaga, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition from the Torii school, excelled in yakusha-e—actor portraits that celebrated kabuki's larger-than-life perform...
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...