Bust Portrait of the Actor Ichikawa Yaozo III as Tanabe Bunzo in the play Hana-ayame Bunroku Soga (Blooming Iris: Soga Vendetta of the Bunroku Era), Performed at the Miyako Theater from the Fifth Day of the Fifth Month, 1794 c. 1794

Curator: This woodblock print, dating back to 1794, is by Katsukawa Shun'ei. It's a portrait of the actor Ichikawa Yaozo III, playing the role of Tanabe Bunzo. Editor: There's an immediate melancholy in his gaze, don't you think? A certain downturned sadness even around the mouth. Curator: Absolutely. You have to remember the context of kabuki theatre. Actors were celebrities but also carriers of powerful traditions, constantly interpreting well-worn stories. Shun'ei captures something beyond the character here. Editor: I’m particularly struck by how Shun'ei conveys the character's vulnerability within the rigidity of the performative art, right? Kabuki's constructed gestures and exaggerated makeup... then, there's this hint of humanity, a palpable interior life in this one person’s expression. The soft plaid garment makes it almost as though the actor's inner self is revealed under this constructed Kabuki role. Curator: The caricature-like qualities highlight specific aspects, maybe even vulnerabilities of Ichikawa Yaozo III that the public knew well. The power dynamics of celebrity even then, seem relevant. Editor: The lines of his hairline seem to almost disappear, further alluding to the fragility that he experiences within this harsh social position. Considering the social position of actors in that era – often marginalized despite their fame – there’s almost a silent critique woven in there. And he stares downward. The woodblock method renders a softness here which gives it an additional edge. Curator: It becomes an icon then, holding layers of societal expectation, personal experience, and theatrical performance all at once. He has truly become immortal through the art, in this emotional, resonant form. Editor: A lasting emblem of performance, representation, and personhood. Even after all these years, his feelings continue to echo through our minds.