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yakusha-e @–ðŽÒŠG
KEY WORD :@art history / paintings
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A type of *ukiyo-e •‚¢ŠG print which shows one or several actors in a stage pose or costume. A principal theme in ukiyo-e, many examples depict aspects of theater life. The earliest depictions of the theater were part of genre screens of the late Muromachi and early Edo periods. Early examples of "The screens of Scenes In and Around Kyoto" *rakuchuu rakugai-zu —Œ’†—ŒŠO} often included a stage set in one corner, with further details on screens of *kabuki ‰Ì•‘Šê plays *kabuki-zu ‰Ì•‘Šê}. As kabuki gained popularity, the audience's interest in individual artists increased and by the end of the seventeenth century the yakusha-e were being published. Because kabuki fans were so curious about the different actors and because they made interesting portraits, yakusha-e were attempted by many artists. However, one family eventually became the traditional bearer of the responsibility for designing the posters kanban-e ŠÅ”ŠG and announcements banzuke-e ”Ô•tŠG of the actors appearing on stage. The Torii school *Toriiha ’¹‹”h artists had a monopoly on the production of posters and sign-boards, and their depictions of actors' figures were characterized by the cliche "gourd-shaped legs and catfish outlines" hyoutan ashi, mimizu gaki •Z’P‘«,åtåm•`. A descendant of the famous Torii Kiyonobu ’¹‹ŽM (1664-1729) and Kiyomasu Ž”{ (?-1716) who first did prints focusing on individual actors, currently paints kabuki posters for the Kabukiza ‰Ì•‘ŠêÀ theater in Tokyo. Outside the Torii school, Okumura Masanobu ‰œ‘º­M (1686-1764) and Nishimura Shigenaga Œ‘ºd’· (?-1756) established their own styles of yakusha-e. In the middle of the eighteenth century, Torii Kiyomitsu ’¹‹Ž–ž (1735-1785) took the lead with attractive yakusha-e in red and a few color prints *benizuri-e g ŠG. After a period of interest in perspective prints *uki-e •‚ŠG showing scenes inside the theater, there was a dramatic return to a highly personalized depiction of actors as in the likeness pictures nigao-e Ž—ŠçŠG of Ippitsusai Bunchou ˆê•MÖ•¶’² (act. 1760-1800) and Katsukawa Shunshou ŸìtÍ (1726-1792) which showed the stars outside of the theater in their daily life. Toushuusai Sharaku “ŒBÖŽÊŠy (act. ca. 1794) may have created some of the most individualistic yakusha-e of the type known as large head pictures *ookubi-e ‘åŽñŠG which focused closely on one actor's torso.
The general term, yakusha-e, may be used more broadly to name prints showing the stage, more specifically known as: *kabuki-e ‰Ì•‘ŠêŠG, shibai-e ŽÅ‹ŠG, gekijou-e Œ€êŠG, gekiga Œ€‰æ.
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(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System.@No reproduction or republication without written permission.
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