The Actors Otani Hiroji III as Onio Shinzaemon (right), and Nakamura Sukegoro II as Wappa no Kikuo (left) in the Play Iro Moyo Aoyagi Soga, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the First Month, 1775
c. 1775
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban
Dimensions
29.5 × 13.7 cm (11 5/8 × 5 3/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22148
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo theater with this striking *hosoban* woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunkō, created around 1775. The narrow format (29.5 × 13.7 cm) captures two kabuki stars: Otani Hiroji III the villainous Onio Shinzaemon on the right, and Nakamura Sukoro II as Wappa Kikuo on the left They perform in *Iro Moyo Aoyagi Soga* at the Nakamura Theater during the first of the year, a popular drama blending romance and revenge from the legendary Soga brothers tale. Shunkō, a leading figure in the Katsukawa school of ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), specializ...
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...