Saturday, 25 February 2017

52 - Kunisada: Yakusha-e from the Kawarazaki Theatre 1852


Ukiyo-e.Yakusha-e. Kunisada.
Kunisada: Yakusha-e from 1852

This is a yakusha-e by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), Actors Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII as Nuregami Chôgorô (right), Ichikawa Saruzô I as Yamasaki Yogorô, Iwai Kumesaburô III as Azuma of the Fujiya (center), and Arashi Rikan III as Hanaregoma Chôkichi (left). It shows scenes from the plays Imoseyama Onna Teikin and Futatsu Chôchô Kuruwa Nikki, at Kawarazaki Theatre in 1852.

Kunisada, sometimes called Toyokuni III, was the superstar of his time, the ukiyo-e artist who had the greatest commercial success during his own lifetime. He was more famous in Japan of his time than Hokusai or Hiroshige.