Bando Mitsugoro II

Katsukawa Shunei's portrait of the actor Bando Mitsugoro II, dated to around 1790, records one of the leading male-role specialists of late eighteenth-century Edo kabuki. The Bando Mitsugoro line was established as a major presence on the Edo stage, and Mitsugoro II in particular was admired for his versatility in tachiyaku roles and for a stage presence that ranged from heroic gravity to comic suppleness. Shunei, a senior figure of the Katsukawa school, draws the actor's face with the careful study of individual features that defined late eighteenth-century yakusha-e. The composition isolates the actor against an unworked ground so that the eye is led directly to expression and costume pattern, with the textile of the kimono articulated through controlled colour blocks. By 1790 Shunei was producing yakusha-e at a steady cadence aligned with the Edo kabuki season, supporting his publishers' ability to bring images of leading performers to market quickly. The print joins a substantial body of Katsukawa school portraits of Bando Mitsugoro II that together provide a visual record of the actor's career through changing roles and venues. The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves the sheet, where it is documented at https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56975.