A Celebration of Actors (Yakusha mono iwai)

Ryūkōsai Jokei 流光斎如圭 Japanese

Not on view

Illustrated by the pioneering Osaka painter and print artist Ryūkōsai, this two-volume set comprises woodblock-printed portraits of forty-nine Kabuki actors of the day, each with their own poem. Books like this helped establish a visual code by which fans could identify favorite actors, through facial characteristics and crests on their costumes. On the last page of each volume is a table of the actors with their stage clan names (yagō) and haiku pen names (haimyō).

A Celebration of Actors (Yakusha mono iwai), Ryūkōsai Jokei 流光斎如圭 (Japanese, active 1777–1809), Illustrated books, 2 volumes; a: 16 leaves; b: 13 leaves, Japan

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.