'Onoe Matsusuke I in his dressing room'

This print, held in the Victoria and Albert Museum and dated 1781, is a Katsukawa Shunsho yakusha-e showing the actor Onoe Matsusuke I in his dressing room (gakuya). Backstage subjects are relatively uncommon in Edo ukiyo-e and represent one of the most engaging facets of Shunsho's Katsukawa school production. Rather than freezing Matsusuke in a famous mie pose, Shunsho catches him offstage — adjusting costume or makeup, surrounded by the paraphernalia of the theater. The interior is sketched with economy: a kimono rack, mirror, or makeup box hints at the gakuya setting, while the actor's relaxed posture distinguishes the moment from a formal stage portrait. Matsusuke I was a versatile performer who specialized in tachiyaku (leading male) roles and would later be remembered as the adoptive father of Onoe Matsusuke II/Kikugoro III. Shunsho's interest in such transitional, candid moments aligned with the broader Katsukawa school project of treating actors as recognizable individuals rather than emblems. The composition allows the viewer the illicit pleasure of seeing a star without his mask, while still relying on the disciplined drawing and clean printing that defined Shunsho's output. As a Katsukawa school yakusha-e variant, the dressing-room print enriches the genre by extending its attention from public performance to private preparation, deepening the bond between Edo audiences and the actors they followed.