Oriental Masterprint – 13, from the series Oriental Masterprints

Roger Shimomura American

Not on view

The artist has created a three-quarter view of an actor whose white made-up face stands in stark contrast to the deep blue background, made with ink bamboo. To Edo-period Kabuki and ukiyo-e print buffs, the image evokes the profile of the famous actor Sawamura Sōjūrō III (1753–1801) performing a role that required a wig with bushy hair, such as that of Monk Seigen, who appears in various plays as a rebellious abbot of Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto and becomes infatuated with Princess Sakura.

Oriental Masterprint – 13, from the series Oriental Masterprints, Roger Shimomura (American, born Seattle 1939), Color screen print on wove paper, Japan

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