Yakusha-e: Kabuki Prints, a Continuing Tradition
(from 29th Nov 2011 until 4th Mar 2012)Discover the brightly coloured woodblock prints of actors from Japanese popular theatre.
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Introduction
Kabuki, Japan’s popular theatre, has entertained audiences since the early 1600s. Leading kabuki actors became celebrities with massive fan clubs, and there was a huge demand for images of famous actors in their colourful costumes and dramatic make-up. These brightly-coloured woodblock prints of actors were known as ‘yakusha-e’. They often show actors striking an intense pose known as a ‘mie’.
This exhibition displays yakusha-e by 19th century print designers Utagawa Kunisada (1786 - 1864) and Toyohara Kunichika (1835 - 1900), alongside a recently-acquired group of woodblock prints by contemporary Japanese printmaker Tsuruya Kōkei (b. 1946)
Like earlier print designers, Kōkei depicts moments from actual kabuki performances, and his portraits of modern-day kabuki actors, with their exaggerated facial features and hands, strongly evoke earlier yakusha-e. However, unlike the Japanese ukiyo-e artists of previous centuries, who merely provided publishers with drawings for block cutters and printers to work on, Kōkei draws, carves, and prints his own designs.
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© 2011 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum