This portrait depicts a daughter of Futamiya-inn, a character appears at second kyogen “Katsuragawa Tsukino Omoide” played by Kawarasaki-za Theater in July of 1794 (Kansei 6). This work was done during Sharaku’s second period as an artist. Sharaku illustrates a woman with checkered yellow silk kimono with yellow stripes in addition to yellowish background; Sharaku’s bold color sensitivity is expressed. The black collar, hem, and deep green obi belt put together the yellowish color tone tightly over all. The precise situational effect of these two colors represents Sharaku’s excellent sense of art. Furthermore what makes this portrait awesome is the depiction of the actor who plays female role: tilted body posture expresses the femininity of kabuki actor. The position of the left hand holding the cigarette pipe and inserting the cigar, the position of the left hand appeals the femininity very much.
Sharaku Toshusai(birth and death dates unknown)
Birth and death dates unknown.
In 1794 (Kansei 6), Sharaku came into sudden prominence, produced more than 140 ukiyo-e paintings during the mere ten months of his activity as an ukiyo-e painter, and then disappeared forever. For his debut work, he used the large, o-ban printing size, and expensive biotitic background printing, which was unusual. Juzaburo Tsutaya, a publisher, enthusiastically promoted Sharaku after Utamaro had left him. Meanwhile, the printing size was getting smaller. One of the major reasons for this was that Sharaku’s way of drawing actors as they were, regardless of their popularity, was not accepted by people of the era. However, each of his portraits is full of energetic impression and gives a positive impact. Because of this, he also received high acclaim from abroad.
Selections of Sharaku Toshusai
Sharaku Toshusai(birth and death dates unknown)
One of the reasons why Sharaku’s works are precious is that so few exist. Unfortunately, his art was recognized abroad before it gained popularity in Japan. While the Japanese were blind to his talent, many of the works ended up abroad and were praised. Some of the works were brought back to Japan as part of the Matsukata Collection in 1943 (Showa 18), which increased the number of his popular works in Japan. These forty works were reissued from the collection. Each of them represents one of Sharaku’s great masterpieces.
