The Actor Iwai Hanshiro IV as Lady Yaehata in the Play Sanga no Sho Haru no Hanayome, Performed at the Kiri Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1787

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan this exquisite color woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunkō a master of *yakusha-e*—portraits of kabuki actors. Titled *The Actor Iwai Hanshiro as Lady Yaehata in the Play Sanga Sho Haru no Hanome*, it captures the star performer in the role of a graceful lady during a 1787 production at the Kiri Theater. Created around that year, this *hosoban* (narrow-format) sheet, measuring just 31.8 × 14.4 cm, forms the left half of a diptych, inviting viewers to imagine its counterpart for a fuller scene. Shunkō, a leading figure in the Katsukawa school, excelled in rendering actors' expressive faces and dynamic poses, blending realism with theatrical flair. This print exemplifies ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), a popular art form that celebrated fleeting pleasures like kabuki theater. Iwai Hanshiro IV, an *onnagata* specialist in female roles, embodies the era's fascination with gender fluidity on stage, where men portrayed women with astonishing elegance. Printed using intricate woodblock techniques—carved blocks inked in multiple colors and precisely aligned—this work highlights the technical marvels of Japanese printmaking. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia department, it offers a window into 18th-century Tokyo's cultural pulse, where art and entertainment intertwined to captivate the masses.

About the Artist

Katsukawa Shunkо̄ · 1743–1812

Katsukawa Shunkō I (1743–1812), born Denjiro Kiyokawa in Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing. His early life remains sparsely documented, but by the late 1760s, he had begun illustrating books such as *Talks about Debut Plays* (*Kaomise shibai banashi*, 1766). Shunkō studied under the master Katsukawa Shunshō, founder and leader of the Katsukawa school, an...