Ichikawa Ebizō
Woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai featuring the character Ichikawa Ebizō in a Kabuki play as a woodcutter who is actually the Priest Mongaku in disguise, as becomes revealed in the course of the play. Kabuki is a highly stylised form, with comic episodes mixed with dramatic themes. Often there is a mystical or supernatural element.…
Katsukawa Shunshō and Bijin-ga
Katsukawa Shunshō was a Japanese painter and printmaker known for his ukiyo-e style, particularly his prints of Kabuki actors and Bijin-ga paintings – paintings of beautiful women. He started life as a student of both haiku and painting. Painting drew him to become a printmaker of the actors he mixed with in the floating world…
Courtesan and a Handsome Youth, by Isoda Koryusai
Following on from the last post on the theme of Japanese art, this is a woodblock print I photographed in the University of the Arts in Taitō City ward in Tokyo. The print is entitled Courtesan and a Handsome Youth, and is by Isoda Koryusai who has an interesting story. He was a samurai employed…