The Fourth Matsumoto Koshiro as a Man Standing on the Bank of a River

Description

Matsumoto Kōshirō IV stands in dark trousers and a light patterned upper robe beside a riverbank fence and reeds. The nearby vegetation gives the actor’s portrayal a particular place without crowding the figure. Katsukawa Shunshō joins the named performer to this setting, inviting attention to the interplay between a character’s dress and the surroundings in which he appears.

Katsukawa Shunshō’s color woodblock print was made around 1785. Ink and color on paper preserve the stage subject in a form that can be considered independently of the performance. The riverbank belongs to the represented character’s world, while the actor’s identity keeps the scene connected to interpretation, making place and person part of the same theatrical image.

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