In the holdings of the Art Institute of Chicago, this Katsukawa Shunsho yakusha-e pairs the actors Nakayama Kojuro VI as Osada Taro Kagemune and Sawamura Sojuru III as Komatsu no Shigemori in the play Yukimotsu Take Furisode Genji (Snow-Covered Bamboo: Genji in Long Sleeves), performed at an Edo theater in 1780. The play drew on the medieval Heike narrative cycle, dramatizing the conflict between the Genji and Heike clans that defined the late-twelfth-century civil war, and the pairing of Osada Kagemune and Komatsu Shigemori positioned two contending political and ethical orientations against one another. Shunsho composes the actors in confrontational opposition, with Kojuro VI's heroic stance balanced against Sojuru III's more controlled posture, the costume patterns serving as visual signatures of the respective roles while the facial features establish the actors' identities. As founder of the Katsukawa school of Edo ukiyo-e, Shunsho specialized in yakusha-e that documented the major productions of the Edo theatrical season, and the multi-figure historical play format gave him the chance to deploy the full range of the school's portrait conventions across paired or grouped compositions. The snow-laden bamboo motif of the play's title appears as a seasonal-poetic framing element, drawing on classical literary precedent and connecting the contemporary stage production to the broader heritage of Japanese visual and literary culture. The Art Institute's sheet preserves a representative example of Shunsho's mature compositional practice.
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
20th century
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
19th century
Ukiyo-e woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Actors Nakayama Kojûrô VI as Osada Tarô Kagemune and Sawamura Sôjûrû III as Komatsu no Shigemori in “Snow-Covered Bamboo: Genji in Long Sleeves” (Yukimotsu Take Furisode Genji) was created by Katsukawa Shunshō (勝川春章) in About 1785.
Actors Nakayama Kojûrô VI as Osada Tarô Kagemune and Sawamura Sôjûrû III as Komatsu no Shigemori in “Snow-Covered Bamboo: Genji in Long Sleeves” (Yukimotsu Take Furisode Genji) depicts winter.