Sawamura Sojuro III and Segawa Kikunojo III

Sawamura Sojuro III and Segawa Kikunojo III pairs two of the most celebrated kabuki stars of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Edo in a yakusha-e by Utagawa Kunisada. Sawamura Sojuro III (1753-1801) was famed for tachiyaku (leading male) roles, while Segawa Kikunojo III (1751-1810) was one of the most acclaimed onnagata of his time; together they appeared in many of the era's defining productions. Kunisada, who would go on to be the most prolific actor-print designer of nineteenth-century Edo ukiyo-e, here memorialises a celebrated stage partnership, presenting the two figures in coordinated poses, costumes patterned to satisfy connoisseurs of textile design, and the carefully observed faces that distinguished the kabuki actor likeness (nigao-e) tradition the Utagawa school refined. Even when the print commemorates earlier performances rather than depicting them live, such designs functioned as ongoing celebrity portraiture, sustaining the reputations of past stars across decades. The impression is recorded on ukiyo-e.org through the Art of Japan source and contributes to the record of how Kunisada participated in the long memory of kabuki by recombining and reissuing portraits of the most beloved performers. Source: ukiyo-e.org / Art of Japan (https://ukiyo-e.org/image/artofjapan/0bb2a89521278565051e6f67822d8b87).