The Actor Nakamura Nakazo with Drawn Sword 1780 - 1800

Katsukawa Shunko made this woodblock print of the actor Nakamura Nakazo sometime in the late 18th century. It presents us with an intriguing convergence of performance, identity, and social critique. The image depicts a Kabuki actor in character, likely during a particularly dramatic moment. Kabuki was a major cultural institution in Japan. Though initially popular across social classes, during the Edo period the government attempted to restrict Kabuki to the merchant classes. The striking makeup and elaborate costumes of Kabuki theater served to signal the artificiality of the stage, but this wasn't simply escapism. Often, Kabuki plays offered veiled critiques of the ruling samurai class. Prints like these—ukiyo-e—were a popular form of media that disseminated images of Kabuki actors to a wide audience. Close study of these prints and other records can reveal much about the ways in which social tensions were negotiated through art and performance.