Toshusai Sharaku
Japan, active 1794/95
The Actor Bando Mitsugoro as Ishii Genzo
1794/95
Woodblock print
37.5 x 24.7 cm
Clarence Buckingham Collection, 1940.1086

Kabuki was the most popular form of Japanese theater in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Famous actors (all were male) were idolized much as our most popular stars are today. Inexpensive, mass-produced woodblock prints showing Kabuki actors playing particular roles were sold to their adoring public the way posters of movie and rock stars are sold today. Here, the actor Bando Mitsugoro draws his sword to aid two relatives who seek to avenge their father’s death. The actor’s exaggerated expression shows his determination and the horror of the impending killing.