Jump to main content
/

Prominent actors of the Edo period depicted in yakusha-e (3)

Yakusha-e of prominent actors from the end of the Edo Shogunate through Meiji

Showcase Person Edo period Tokyo Painting & Calligraphy

Table of Contents

Yakusha-e (literally “actor paintings”) is a collective term for ukiyo-e prints that depict kabuki actors in a stage pose or costume. Prints of popular actors, in particular, were hotly sought after by devoted fans, so they were created and sold in large volumes. Numerous talented artists, such as Shunso Katsukawa and other painters of the Katsukawa School, as well as Sharaku Toshusai, Toyokuni Utagawa, Kunimasa Utagawa, and Kunisada Utagawa are known as creators of yakusha-e. A sub-genre of yakusha-e is okubi-e (literally “large-head pictures”), a type of close-up portraits that depict the actor’s head and upper torso and often exaggerate their facial expression. The birth of this sub-genre came in response to fans’ desire to enjoy from up close images of their favorite actors, and as a result numerous artworks have been preserved that capture in fascinating detail moments of kabuki actors striking a pose on stage. Many prominent actors from the end of the Edo Shogunate through the Meiji period appear in this genre.

関連するひと・もの・こと

  • Prominent actors of the Edo period depicted in yakusha-e (1)

    Yakusha-e of prominent actors in the period from Genroku through Kansei

  • Prominent actors of the Edo period depicted in yakusha-e (2)

    Yakusha-e from Bunka-Bunsei through the Tenpo era

  • Ichikawa Danjuro

    Ichikawa Danjuro is the stage name passed down through a series of Kabuki actors who are skillful at playing brave characters. The name has remained in Kabuki from the Edo era to the present age.

  • Torii Kiyonaga

    An Ukiyo-e artist in the middle of the Edo period(1603-1867), who swept the world with paintings of beautiful well-proportioned women.

  • Utagawa Toyokuni

    A master painter of actor portraits who surpassed even Sharaku in popularity

  • Toshusai Sharaku

    A mysterious ukiyo-e artist who drew unique pictures of actors in the late Edo period

  • Utagawa Kunisada(The third Toyokuni)

    An ukiyo-e artist representing the end of the Edo period. He produced the largest number of ukiyo-e paintings among all ukiyoe artists.

  • Juzaburo Tsutaya

    A major publisher in the mid-Edo period who collaborated with writers and artists to produce many popular books

  • Nishiki-e

    Nishiki-e is the generic term for the Ukiyo-e multi-colored woodblock prints which were developed and popularized during the Edo era.

From the end of the Edo Shogunate through Meiji

Print: “Nikki Danjo Naonori” (the role), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1852

Print: “Ikake no Matsu, Ichikawa Kodanji” (Ichikawa Kodanji as Matsugoro the Tinker), by Utagawa Kunisada II, 1866

Print: “Ishikawa Goemon, Ichikawa Kodanji” (Ichikawa Kodanji as Ishikawa Goemon), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1861

Print: “Osho Kichisa” (The Buddhist Priest Kichisa), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1860

Print: “Agemaki no Sukeroku, Ichikawa Danjuro, Sansho” (Ichikawa Danjuro as Sukeroku), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1860

Print: “Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi, Totsuka eki, Hayano Kanpei” (Hayano Kanpei at Totsuka Station, One of the 53 Stages of the Tokai Route), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1852

Print: “Shinzo Izayoi” (the role), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1859

Print: “Ojo Kichisa” (The Young Lady Kichisa), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1860

Print: “Masaoka, Bando Hikosaburo” (Bando Hikosaburo as Masaoka), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1872

Print: “Abe no Yasuna, Ichimura Uzaemon” (Ichimura Uzaemon as Abe no Yasuna), by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1839

Print: “Fujiya Izaemon, Nakamura Shikan nari” (Nakamura Shikan as Fujiya Izaemon), by Utagawa Kunisada, 1860

Print: “Karukaya Doshin, Sawamura Tossho” (Sawamura Tossho as Karukaya Doshin), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1869

Print: “Sawamura Tanosuke,” by Utagawa Kunisada, 1861

Print: “Kirare Otomi, Sawamura Tanosuke” (Sawamura Tanosuke as Scarface Otomi), by Toyohara Kunichika, unknown year of publication

Print: “Onna sendo, Sawamura Tanosuke” (Sawamura Tanosuke as the Boatwoman), by Utagawa Kunisada II, 1861

Print: “Marubashi Chuya, Ichikawa Sadanji” (Ichikawa Sadanji as Marubashi Chuya), by Hayashi Motoharu, 1892

Print: “Togashi no Saemon, Ichikawa Sadanji” (Ichikawa Sadanji as Togashi no Saemon), by Toyohara Kunichika

Print: “Sano Jirozaemon, Ichikawa Sadanji” (Ichikawa Sadanji as Sano Jirozaemon), by Utagawa Kunisada III

Kikugoro Onoe V

Ichikawa Danjuro IX and Onoe Kikugoro V were such celebrated kabuki actors of the Meiji era that they were often grouped together and called Dan-Kiku as the embodiment of their art. Early on, Kikugoro used the names Ichimura Kuroemon, Ichimura Usaemon, and Ichimura Kakitsu. He was the grandson of Onoe Kikugoro III. At the age of 19, his first performance of the role Benten Kozo was such a success that in 1868 he succeeded to the name Onoe Kikugoro V.

Kikugoro Onoe V

Print: “Mitate juniji no uchi, Mi, Benten Kozo, Onoe Kikugoro” (Onoe Kikugoro as the Young Benten, from the series “The Twelve Hours Parodied”), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1874

Print: “Kamiyui no Shinza, Onoe Kikugoro” (Onoe Kikugoro as Shinza the Hairdresser), by Utagawa Kunisada III, 1893

Print: “Kanpei, Onoe Kikugoro” (Onoe Kikugoro as Kanpei), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1875

Print: “Okaru, Onoe Kikugoro” (Onoe Kikugoro as Okaru), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1889

Print: “Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Onoe Kikugoro” (Onoe Kikugoro as Minamoto no Yoshitsune), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1872

Print: “Shiobara Tasuke, Onoe Kikugoro” (Onoe Kikugoro as Shiobara Tasuke), by Utagawa Kunisada III, 1892

Print: “Efu Rinnosuke, Onoe Kikugoro” (Onoe Kikugoro as Efu Rinnosuke), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1879

Danjuro Ichikawa IX

Ichikawa Danjuro IX, the greatest kabuki actor of the Meiji era, was the fifth son of Ichikawa Danjuro VII and the younger brother of Ichikawa Danjuro VIII. In 1874 Kawarasaki Gonjuro (his former name) succeeded to the name Danjuro Ichikawa IX. Whether as the protagonist, in a female role, or as the antagonist, he always gave superb performances. He created historical plays (called katsureki in Japanese). He also selected the Eighteen New Master Plays of the Ichikawa Family (“Shin Kabuki Juhachiban”), which actually consisted of 32 to 40 plays. In this and other ways, he greatly contributed to the development of kabuki.

Danjuro Ichikawa IX

Print: “Musashibo Benkei, Ichikawa Danjuro” (Ichikawa Danjuro as Musashibo Benkei), by Utagawa Kunisada III, 1890

Print: “Yosaburo, Ichikawa Danjuro” (Ichikawa Danjuro as Yosaburo), by Yoshu Chikanobu, 1882

Print: “Kouchiyama Soshun, Ichikawa Danjuro” (Ichikawa Danjuro as Kouchiyama Soshun), by Utagawa Chikashige, 1881

Print: “Haruasobi shiki no nagame, Ichikawa Danjuro” (Ichikawa Danjuro in “A Eulogy to Springtime”), by Toyohara Kunichika, 1891
Responsibility
Secondary Usage

Last updated
March 21, 2024