Actor Nakamura Tomijurō I in a female role (onnagata)

Katsukawa Shunshō (active early 18th century; place of birth unknown) first studied under Miyagawa Shunsui and later established the Katsukawa school. His apprentices included Katsukawa Shunko, Shun’ei, and Shuncho, as well as Katsushika Hokusai, who began his career under the name Shunrō.
Unlike the Miyagawa school, which specialized primarily in hand-painted works, Shunshō was active in both paintings and woodblock prints, excelling in actor portraits and images of beauties.

In the field of actor prints, he broke from the conventional stylized approach of the Torii school by introducing a new mode of realistic likeness known as “nigao,” thereby establishing a more naturalistic style of portraiture. He also pioneered the upper-body format that would later evolve into the ōkubi-e (large-head portraits) of Sharaku and others, exerting a major influence on the development of actor prints. Shunshō was also active in the literary world, participating in the Edoza Haikai group that traced its lineage to Matsuo Bashō.
His works often incorporated elements of classical aesthetics, producing mitate-e (pictures that implicitly refer to classical elements) and other compositions that drew upon traditional themes within the familiar settings of the pleasure quarters and the theater district. In his later years, he painted refined images of women distinguished from those of his contemporarie for their elegance and sensitivity. Hokusai is said to have left the Katsukawa school largely because of the impact of Shunshō’s death.

This work depicts Nakamura Tomijūrō I (1719–1786), identified by facial features and the family crest. Tomijūrō played a pivotal role in the development of kabuki buyō (dance) and onnagata performance, and he was the first to stage the masterpiece Kyōkanoko Musume Dōjōji. In contemporary actor critiques (yakusha hyōbanki), he was ranked at the highest level, Sanga no Tsu Sōgeigashira, a distinction awarded to only three actors in kabuki history. The identification of the specific play and role remains uncertain, beyond the fact that the figure is an onnagata. Some scholars propose that it depicts Higashiyama Nishiki no Kadoide (described by the Art Institute of Chicago as Higashiyama Momiji no Kadode) (Ichimura-za, Edo, 1778) or Meoto Sake Kawaranu Nakanaka (Ichimura-za, Edo, 1777).

Shunshō also depicted many other leading actors of his day, including Segawa Kikunojō, Iwai Hanshirō, and Ichikawa Danjūrō, portraying them with expressive detail and lively presence.

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[CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ]
Hizo ukiyo-e taikan, Puruvera korekushon [Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in Western Collections: The Pulverer Collection] (1990), no. 31.