The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon IX as the Potter Tsuchihei in the Play Higashiyama Momiji no Kadode, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Ninth Month, 1778

Katsukawa Shunsho depicts Ichimura Uzaemon IX as the potter Tsuchihei in Higashiyama Momiji no Kadode, performed at the Ichimura Theater in the ninth month of 1778. This Art Institute of Chicago impression shows a so-called sewamono character, a commoner role drawn from contemporary urban life, rather than the historical heroes of the jidaimono repertoire. The potter's costume is simpler and the pose more grounded, fitting a working-class persona who would have been instantly recognizable to Edo audiences. Uzaemon IX, theater proprietor as well as actor, often played such roles that demanded naturalistic conviction rather than declamatory grandeur. Shunsho's drawing responds with a more relaxed line and a less elaborate background, demonstrating that the Katsukawa school's contribution to Edo ukiyo-e extended beyond portraits of swaggering aragoto heroes to the full range of kabuki types. The print is part of the broader Katsukawa effort, undertaken throughout the 1770s and into the 1780s, to document each season's productions with enough specificity that play title, theater, month, and year could all be securely captioned. For collectors and modern scholars alike, this fidelity transformed yakusha-e from decorative ephemera into a primary historical record of late-eighteenth-century Edo theatrical practice.