市川鰕蔵の竹村定之進|Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Ebizō (Ichikawa Danjūrō V) in the play The Colored Reins of a Loving Wife (Koi nyōbō somewake tazuna)

Tōshūsai Sharaku

5th month, 1794 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper with mica ground · Asian Art

Sharaku created bold and stylized depictions of Kabuki actors by focusing on bust portraits. He thus could concentrate on the facial expressions and hand gestures of his subjects. In this portrait, one of Sharaku's most famous works, Ebizō (Danjūrō V) acts the part of a samurai warrior of tremendous integrity in a moment of insufferable moral conflict. Immediately afterward, he will commit seppuku, suicide by disembowelment, to preserve his honor. This close-up image of Danjūrō V in the role of Takemura Sadanoshin shows a strong sense of tension and immediacy.

Artist

Tōshūsai Sharaku

Date

5th month, 1794

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper with mica ground

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Rogers Fund, 1949