"Kataoka Gado as Miyuki in 'Shoutsushi asagao nikki'"
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- British Museum
- Image courtesy of
- British Museum
Description
This [yakusha-e](/glossary/yakusha-e) depicts the kabuki actor Kataoka Gado in the onnagata role of Miyuki from the play commonly known as Asagao Nikki (The Diary of the Morning Glory). Miyuki is the blind young woman who wanders in search of her lover Mitsuhide, and the role demands delicate physical expression to convey her condition and grief. Yoshikawa's Kyoto-based training gave him intimate familiarity with Kamigata kabuki performance traditions, and his command of historical costuming is evident in the careful rendering of the character's layered kimono and obi. The composition likely presents the figure in a posed theatrical stance, with attention to textile pattern and drape characteristic of Yoshikawa's bijin and theatrical prints. The color palette would reflect both the emotional register of the scene and the specific dyeing conventions of the costume.

