Yamatoya: Iwai Hanshiro IV as Katanaya Ohana, from the series "Portraits of Actors on Stage (Yakusha butai no sugata-e)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
37.4 × 24.4 cm (14 3/4 × 9 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
89470
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Japanese theater with *Yamatoya: Iwai Hanshiro IV as Katan Ohana*, a stunning color woodblock print by Utagawa Toyok I from his series *Portraits of Actors on Stage (Yakusha butai no sugata-e)*, created in 1794 Toyokuni I, a figure in the ukiyo-e tradition—"pictures of the floating world"—ized in yakusha-e, dynamic depictions of Kabuki performers that captured the excitement of Edo-period stage life. This oban-sized print (37.4 × 24.4 cm) showcases the renowned onnagata actor Iwai Hanshiro IV in the role of Katanaya Ohana, a swordsmith's daughter, fr...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni I · 1777–1835
Japanese, 1777–1835