The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo III as the Sparrow Seller Bunji Yasukata (Sandai-me Ichikawa Yaozo no suzume uri Bunji Yasukata)
- Date:
- 1794 (Kansei 6)
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; hosoban, nishiki-e
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Toshusai Sharaku's portrait of Ichikawa Yaozo III in the role of the sparrow seller Bunji Yasukata belongs to the rich body of [yakusha-e](/glossary/yakusha-e) the artist produced during his brief but transformative career in the mid-1790s. The role of a humble street vendor allowed kabuki dramatists to explore the boundaries between social classes, and the sparrow seller often functioned in plays as a figure of either honest poverty or as an aristocrat in disguise, providing Sharaku with one of his recurring subjects. In this yakusha-e, Yaozo III is rendered with the precise particularity that marks Sharaku's distinctive contribution to Edo [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e): the brow is strongly drawn, the gaze focused on the work at hand, and the mouth set in the relaxed posture that the role demands. The composition aligns with Sharaku's preferred okubi-e mode, concentrating attention on the head and upper body and using firmly drawn contours and a controlled palette to produce sculptural weight. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves this impression among its substantial Sharaku holdings, providing scholars with primary material for the study of late Edo theatrical portraiture. Published by Tsutaya Juzaburo, whose firm Tsutaya supplied the financial backing for Sharaku's prolific career, the print uses careful block registration and high-quality pigments to elevate the work to a luxury object in the broader landscape of Edo ukiyo-e, where it remains a primary document of how Sharaku transformed routine theatrical memento into sustained character study.
1794
Color woodblock print; aiban
1794
Color woodblock print; hosoban
1794
Color woodblock print; oban
1794
Color woodblock print; oban
The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo III as the Sparrow Seller Bunji Yasukata (Sandai-me Ichikawa Yaozo no suzume uri Bunji Yasukata) was created by Tōshūsai Sharaku (東洲斎写楽) in 1794 (Kansei 6).
The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo III as the Sparrow Seller Bunji Yasukata (Sandai-me Ichikawa Yaozo no suzume uri Bunji Yasukata) depicts birds & flowers.
