Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Shinozuka in a Shibaraku (Stop Right There!) Scene

Dated the eleventh month of 1790 and held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this Katsukawa Shunkō print depicts the kabuki actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Shinozuka in a Shibaraku ("Stop right there!") scene. As discussed under the earlier 1780 Monnosuke II Shibaraku print, the Shibaraku scene was a defining piece of the Ichikawa family repertoire and one of the most spectacular set-pieces in all of kabuki: the hero's costumed entrance, his cry of "Shibaraku!" to halt an injustice, and his subsequent confrontation with the villains became a fixed annual feature of the Edo theatrical calendar. By 1790, Monnosuke II had been performing Shibaraku roles for more than two decades, and Shunkō had been producing his portraits across most of that same span. The two artists' careers — actor and print designer — were deeply intertwined in the Edo theater and publishing economy. The 1790 date places this work very close to Shunkō's stroke, making it one of his last major designs, produced at the height of his draftsmanship and during the period when the Katsukawa school was beginning to experiment with the large-head ōkubi-e portraits that would soon transform the genre. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's precisely dated impression preserves a key piece of Edo kabuki history.