鳥居清満画　初代市川雷藏・二代目坂東彦三郎|Kabuki Actors Ichikawa Raizō I and Bandō Hikosaburō II

Art Historical Context

This vibrant woodblock print by Torii Kiyomitsu, a leading figure of the Torii school during Japan's Edo period (16151868), captures Kabuki actors Ichikawa Raō I and Bandō Hikosaburō II in dynamic poses from 1767. Titled *Torii Kiyomitsu ga Ichidai Ichikawa Raizō Nidai Bandō Hikosaburō*, it showcases the actors amid props like baskets and buckets likely evoking a lively theatrical scene. Measuring just 12 7/32 x 5 7/8 inches, this compact *hosoban* format was designed for affordability, allowing theater enthusiasts to own affordable souvenirs of their favorites. Kiyomitsu mastered *yakusha-e* (actor prints), a hallmark of ukiyo-e—the "pictures of the floating world" that celebrated Edo's entertainments like Kabuki. The Torii school dominated this genre, blending bold lines, vivid colors from layered inks, and exaggerated expressions to convey performers' star power and emotional intensity. Kabuki, with its all-male casts and dramatic storytelling, was a cultural phenomenon, and prints like this immortalized stars, fueling fan culture. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art collection (Rogers Fund, 1914), this work highlights woodblock printing's technical brilliance—carved blocks inked and pressed onto paper for mass production. It offers a window into 18th-century Japan's thriving urban life, where art and theater intertwined to reflect societal joys.

About the Artist

Torii Kiyomitsu · 1735–1785

Torii Kiyomitsu (1735–1785) was a leading master of the Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and a key figure in the third generation of the celebrated Torii school. Born into an artistic dynasty founded by his ancestor Torii Kiyonobu, Kiyomitsu trained within the family workshop and inherited its deep connections to the Kabuki theater world, for which the Torii school had long designed prom...