The Actors Otani Ryuzaemon II as Kajiwara Genta and Arashi Tominosuke I as Oiso no Tora in the play "Tamagushi Yosooi Soga," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the first month, 1747
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
Dimensions
31.2 × 14 cm (12 1/4 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19421
About the Artist
Nishimura Shigenaga · 1690–1758
Nishimura Shigenaga (c. 1697–1756) was a pioneering Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker born in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), where he initially worked as a landlord in the Tōriabura-chō district before relocating to Kanda-Sakumachō to operate a bookshop. Self-taught with no known formal teacher, he immersed himself in art around 1719, drawing early inspiration from the Torii school's yakusha-e (actor portraits...