Description
Nakamura Nakazō I portrays a traveling Buddhist pilgrim with tall, bundled headgear and a large load behind his body. The carried forms give the figure a distinctive silhouette against the dark upper backdrop. Katsukawa Shunshō brings the practical appearance of travel into a theatrical portrayal, allowing the character’s identity to emerge through the actor’s presentation and the objects accompanying him.
Katsukawa Shunshō’s color woodblock print is dated 1780, during Japan’s Edo period. Its ink-and-color medium preserves a nocturnal stage subject without needing the performance itself to remain present. The image’s interest lies in that lasting encounter, where the viewer can consider actor, role and the suggestion of nighttime as distinct parts of one theatrical representation.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Katsukawa Shunshō collection.
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