Ichikawa Monnosuke II as a Temple Page

Held by the Cleveland Museum of Art and dated 1770, this Katsukawa Shunsho yakusha-e portrays Ichikawa Monnosuke II as a temple page (chigo). The chigo, an attendant boy attached to a temple, was a recurring kabuki role type that allowed onnagata-leaning young male stars to inhabit androgynous, elegantly costumed parts. Monnosuke II — among the most popular Edo actors of the late eighteenth century — is shown in such a role here, with the elaborate hair and patterned robes typical of the chigo type. Shunsho, founder of the Katsukawa school, was already at this date overturning the older Torii school approach to actor prints by giving each figure a specific face: Monnosuke II's distinct nose, jaw, and brow are evident, individuating him from any number of other actors who might play the same role. The composition follows Shunsho's preferred formula, placing the single figure against an unfilled ground so that the silhouette and the printed pattern of the costume carry the entire visual interest. Edo ukiyo-e prints of this kind functioned both as theater memorabilia and as collectible images of admired actors, and they were a primary engine for the Katsukawa school's commercial success. As an early-1770s example, this Monnosuke II portrait shows the formula that would dominate yakusha-e for the rest of the century already fully formed.