Yoshiiku Utagawa, Actor Nakamura Kantaro, Portraits as True Likenesses in the Moonlight
Artist: Yoshiiku Utagawa (1833-1904)
Title: Actor Nakamura Kantaro
Series title: Portraits as True Likenesses in the Moonlight
Publisher: Hirookaya Kosuke
Date: 1867
Size: 23.8 x 35.3 cm
Original Japanese woodblock print.
The series 'Portraits as True Likenesses in the Moonlight' shows well-known kabuki actors in profile without naming them. Given the great popularity of kabuki, the theater-going public would easily recognise the actors, the prints having an entertaining purpose for fans.
Yoshiiku Utagawa
Born the son of teahouse proprietor Asakusa Tamichi in 1833, Yoshiiku became a student of ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi toward the end of the 1840s. His earliest known work dates to 1852 when he provided the backgrounds to some actor prints by his master. Yoshiiku's earliest works were portraits of actors, beauties, and warriors. He later followed Kuniyoshi into making satirical and humorous pieces, and became the leading name in the field after Kuniyosh's death in 1861.
| Print Format | Oban (Vertical) |
|---|---|
| Artist | Yoshiiku Utagawa |
| Subject | Kabuki Theatre |
| Dimensions | 23.8 x 35.3 cm |
| Condition Report | Trimmed, glue stains, minor spots. |
| Folders | In Store, BH |
