The Actors IV Iwai Hanshiro and I Bando Mitsugoro as Women Pilgrime in a shosa (Acting and Dancing) Performance

Description

Iwai Hanshirō IV and Bandō Mitsugorō I appear as women pilgrims in a shosa performance combining acting and dancing. One figure sits lower while the other stands behind and to the right, their pale draped robes joined by broad, round objects held near the shoulders. The different levels give the performance a shared rhythm, making the pair’s coordinated presence central to the scene.

Created around 1776, the nishiki-e woodblock print was made with ink and color on paper. Its appeal lies in the meeting of separate actors within a coordinated performance, where the represented women are embodied through a shared sequence of action. Katsukawa Shunshō gives that temporary conjunction a lasting form. The image preserves the theatrical transformation of each participant while allowing their relationship to matter as much as either individual role.

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