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Tsutaya Jūzaburō: Master Publisher of Ukiyo-e

Tōshūsai Sharaku (act. 1794–95)
Sanogawa Ichimatsu III as the Courtesan Onayo of Gion, in the Kabuki Play The Iris Soga of the Bunroku Era (Hanashōbu Bunroku Soga)
1794
Publisher: Tsutaya Jūzaburō
Color woodcut with mica ground
38.9 x 25.8 cm
The Mann Collection, Highland Park, IL

The play The Iris Soga of the Bunroku Era portrayed the revenge of the Ishii brothers for the murder of their father, an event that occurred in 1701. Because the shogunate frowned upon the depiction of violent acts associated with its regime, the action was transferred to the Bunroku era (1592–96) of the preceding Momoyama period. Onayo’s role in the drama is not clear. The actor’s costume includes a checkerboard patterned fabric (ichimatsu) so named because it was made fashionable by the first Sanogawa Ichimatsu (1722–1762).

Photo: Michael Tropea, Chicago

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