Actor Ôtani Hiroji III and (possibly) Satsuma Gengobei in “Green Willow Soga of Erotic Design” (“Iro Moyô Aoyagi Soga”) from the series Fans of the East (Azuma ôgi)

This Katsukawa Shunsho design records Otani Hiroji III, possibly in the role of Satsuma Gengobei, in the kabuki production Iro Moyo Aoyagi Soga ("Green Willow Soga of Erotic Design"). The print belongs to the series Fans of the East (Azuma ogi), in which Shunsho framed each portrait inside the shape of a folding fan, a witty conceit that turned actor likenesses into collectible keepsakes evoking the souvenir fans sold near Edo's theaters. As one of the founding masters of the Katsukawa school, Shunsho transformed Edo ukiyo-e yakusha-e by replacing the generic stage masks of the earlier Torii style with sharp, individuated portraits drawn from observation. Hiroji III, a celebrated player of aragoto rough-style heroes and villains, is shown in a moment of fierce concentration, his costume rendered in the school's characteristic palette of muted reds, grays, and indigos. The compressed fan format forced Shunsho to compose the figure with great economy, cropping shoulders and weapons against the curved edge while still conveying physical authority. Held by the Art Institute of Chicago, this sheet exemplifies how the Katsukawa school's fan-shaped portrait series circulated alongside hosoban single-figure prints to feed Edo's appetite for actor imagery. Shunsho's careful attention to brocade patterns, the angle of the chin, and the actor's signature glare gave fans a recognizable likeness rather than a stock type, an innovation that defined Edo ukiyo-e for the next generation and shaped the work of Shunsho's pupils, including the young Katsushika Hokusai. The print survives as a vivid record of mid-1770s Edo theater taste and of the Katsukawa workshop's role in elevating yakusha-e to the level of portraiture.