The Second Ichikawa Yaozo as a Man Standing with His Arms Crossed

Description

Ichikawa Yaozō II stands hunched with his arms gathered across his body, wearing a reddish-green robe above purple trousers before a railing. The compact upper pose contrasts with the standing figure’s length. Katsukawa Shunshō makes the actor’s physical presentation central to this encounter, preserving the named performer without assigning an unsupported dramatic role or storyline to his gesture.

Katsukawa Shunshō’s color woodblock print dates to 1773 or 1774. Its ink-and-color medium turns a stage subject into a lasting visual presence, inviting attention to the difference between a performer and the figure he portrays. The image’s restraint leaves space for the viewer to consider that relationship, where a single position can carry character without fully explaining the surrounding drama.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Katsukawa Shunshō collection.