Actor Ichikawa Yaozö II as Soga-no-Gorö Tokimune

Catalog note / 解説

According to James A. Michener: “No artist, regardless of the field in which he worked or the nation from which he came, ever had a clearer understanding of what he wanted to accomplish than Katsukawa Shunshö, who designed actor prints.” Most of Shunshö's prints were done in the same hosoban (narrow picture) format, which measures about 30 x 15 cm, and is slightly narrower than the regular chüban format (28 x 20 cm). Prints such as this one of a Kabuki actor (as seen in this print) produce a pleasing upright panel housing a single figure. Michener praised him in the following way: Shunshö is excellent at placing a figure “in the exact spot on the paper where it will be most effective.” The…