The Second Yamashita Kinsaku as a Woman Standing at Night

Description

Yamashita Kinsaku II appears as a woman standing at night, joining a female theatrical role to a setting defined by darkness. The female-role actor raises a lantern near the shoulder and head, wearing a long green robe and pale wrap against a very dark background. The carried light becomes part of the character’s action, giving the nighttime setting a specific focus beyond atmosphere alone.

Created around 1779, the nishiki-e woodblock print was made with ink and color on paper. The subject preserves a performer in a female guise, keeping the theatrical transformation part of the image’s identity. Its interest lies in the meeting of character and time of day, where the same standing action can acquire a different mood within a nocturnal setting. Katsukawa Shunshō gives that staged encounter a form that invites sustained attention.

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