The Actor Matsumoto Yonesaburō as Shinobu, Posing as the Courtesan Kewaizaka no Shōshō, from the play A Medley of Tales of Revenge Artist: Tōshūsai Sharaku (Japanese, active 1794–95)

5th month, 1794

Asian Art

By appointment, Duffy Study Room

This print shows Shinobu, the younger of the two vengeful sisters in the play A Medley of Tales of Revenge, impersonating the courtesan Kewaizaka no Shōshō while plotting to avenge the murder of the sisters’ father. Sharaku has displayed not only the refined beauty of Shinobu acting as the courtesan but also the young handsome actor behind the role with almond-shaped eyes and a well-proportioned nose. The figure in the print appears more realistic than other works of the period.

Medium

Ukiyo-e; polychrome woodblock print

Dimensions

sheet: 14 7/16 × 10 in. (36.6 × 25.4 cm)

Credit Line

Hobart and Edward Small Moore Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. William H. Moore

Accession Number

1950.568

Geography

Japan

Culture

Japanese

Period

Edo period (1615–1868)

Classification

Prints

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Mrs. William H. Moore (1858–1955), New York, to 1950; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • George J. Lee, Edo Culture in Japanese prints, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1972), 43, no. 8
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

color woodcuts

Inscriptions

Publisher Tsutaya's mark below the signature onthe right. (The printing is unclear.)

Signed

Signed upper right: Toshusai Sharaku ga

Technical metadata and APIs

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