The Actor Nakamura Fukusuke I as Miyagi Asojiro

Artist Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786-1864)

Artist(Block carver) Horiko Takichi

Date1855

Dimensions14 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (36.2 x 24.8 cm)

Mediumcolor woodblock print

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Carl Spitzer

Object number

1940.4

Not on View

Label TextKabuki theater presented stories of high drama and romantic intrigue that captured the imagination of all levels of Japanese society. Revered by the public, Kabuki actors became a popular, avidly-collected subject for ukiyo-e, or floating world, prints. In this scene from The Real Story of Morning Glory, the actor Nakamura Fukusuke I is engaged in firefly-viewing, a popular pastime that typically had flirtatious connotations. Actor prints reached such tremendous popularity that in 1842 the government banned them, along with images of courtesans, in favor of more morally uplifting subjects. However, by the 1850s, when this print was published, the rules were more relaxed and many artists had devised methods to skirt this censorship. Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Toyokuni III, was one of the most prolific woodblock artists in 19th-century Japan. Overlooked for a long period, his work is now considered to be innovative in its style, technique, and subject matter.Exhibition HistoryToledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Strong Women Beautiful Men: Japanese Portrait Prints from the Toledo Museum of Art, October 14, 2005 - January 2, 2006.