The Third Sawamura Sojuro in the Role of Shirai Gonpachi
2nd month, 1788
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
12 1/32 x 5 3/8 in. (30.6 x 13.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
Accession Number
JP277
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunkō captures the celebrated kabuki actor Sawamura Sojūrō III in the role of Shirai Gonpachi, a dramatic character from popular Edo-period theater. Created in the second month of 1788 during Japan’s Edo period, the work exemplifies yakusha-e, or actor prints, a that flourished as urban audiences sought affordable souvenirs and portraits of their favorite stage stars. Shunkō, a leading pupil of Katsukawa Shunshō, helped pioneer the realistic depiction of actors’ distinctive features and expressive poses. Printed with ink and color on paper using the...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunkō
Katsukawa Shunkō I (1743–1812) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who pioneered the ōkubi-e (large-head) portrait format in kabuki actor prints and served as possibly the first student of Katsukawa Shunshō, the founder of the influential Katsukawa school. Born in 1743, Shunkō spent his entire life in Edo (modern Tokyo), working as both a painter and ukiyo-e printmaker specializing in yakusha-e (actor p...