Beauties and Actors

Utagawa Toyokuni I

Sawamura Sōjūrō III as Shimada Jūzaburō

c. 1795

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 35.9 × 24.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

A star poses in the play Faithful Courtesans in Yoshiwara, his trousers patterned with stylized water.

• From a series of actors on stage published in 1794–96.
• The actor's yagō, Kinokuniya, is printed under the series title.
• Toyokuni's full-length, composed figures stand apart from Sharaku's tight close-ups.

Yagō

An acting family's house name, shared by its line of actors.

Image: The Met Open Access · Public domain (Met Open Access)