The Third Segawa Kikunojo as a Woman Walking Toward the Right

Description

Katsukawa Shunshō portrays Segawa Kikunojō III’s female role walking to the right in long, pale patterned robes. The trailing clothing extends the movement behind the body, while a slight backward turn of the head complicates the forward direction. This small contrast makes the figure seem attentive to more than the path immediately ahead.

Dated 1774 or 1775, the ink-and-color woodblock print preserves both a particular performer and the persona he assumes. The walking figure allows movement to carry the scene without requiring a fully identified plot. Shunshō’s image holds that passing action in a durable form, inviting attention to how an actor’s body can suggest another person through gesture and dress. The uncertain year remains part of the work’s documented dating.

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