Ichikawa Omezo as Ippei the Manservant [Woodblock Reproduction]

Sharaku Toshusai was a pivotal and enigmatic ukiyo-e master of the late 18th century. Very little is known about Sharaku’s life aside from the fact that he worked in Edo in the 1890s. While theories abound - from a noh actor visiting Edo from Osaka to a pseudonym for a poet or even another ukiyo-e artist - his identity remains mysterious. Between May 1794 and February 1795, Sharaku produced around 140 known designs, primarily depicting stars of the kabuki stage, as well as some sumo imagery. Though brief, his ten-month career marked a significant shift within the actor print genre (yakusha-e). Known as “likeness pictures (nigao-e)”, Sharaku’s prints moved away from idealized representations to increasingly individualized portraiture. As he incorporated the distinctive physiognomy of beloved actors with strikingly expressive portraiture, Sharaku invited the viewer to consider not just the role or play, but the actor in his own right. Sharaku’s work was radical and proved controversial among audiences of his time. A renewed international interest in ukiyo-e at the turn of the 20th century sparked a reevaluation of Sharaku’s woodblock prints and earned him the exceptional reputation he holds today. Together with Utamaro Kitagawa, the 18th-century master of bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women), Sharaku is often credited with the introduction of psychological portraiture to ukiyo-e.