The Floating World Takes Shape

Ishikawa Toyonobu

The Actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu I as Hisamatsu

c. 1748

Hand-colored woodblock print, 71 × 26.1 cm. The Art Institute of Chicago

A star poses in a role from a 1743 Soga play, his jacket in a bold brown-and-black check.

• Glossy black mixed with glue, called lacquer picture (urushi-e), deepens the darks.
• Signed and sealed, with the publisher Urokogata-ya's seal.
• The check caught on as a fashion through this actor.

Image: Art Institute of Chicago open access · CC0