The actors Sawamura Sojuro II as Satsuma Gengobei and Arashi Ryuzo II as Mawashi-otoko Yasuke in the play "Edo Sunago Kichirei Soga," performed at the Miyako Theater on the first month, 1795 c. 1795

Editor: This woodblock print, "The actors Sawamura Sojuro II as Satsuma Gengobei and Arashi Ryuzo II as Mawashi-otoko Yasuke...", created around 1795 by Utagawa Toyokuni I, captures a tense moment. I’m really struck by how the artist uses line and color to create such dramatic tension between these two figures. How do you see the artist's choices influencing the artwork's meaning? Curator: What I see here are the markers of its making, right? Look at the lines - those are not just lines; they are the record of the artisan, of labor. The woodblock print process itself – the carving, the inking, the pressing – speaks to a specific mode of production and dissemination of images in 18th century Japan. The materials – the wood, the ink, the paper – where do they come from? What are their trade routes? This impacts how the image then reaches a wide audience beyond the elite. This is a popular art form depicting popular actors, think about that for a minute. Editor: So you are saying the accessibility of the medium impacts the subject matter and reception? Curator: Exactly. Consider also the social context of kabuki theater itself. The actors were celebrities, but often came from lower social classes. This image both reflects and reinforces that societal tension. How is class depicted through costume and gesture here? Editor: The details in the robes do suggest status. Also, I didn’t even think about it until you mentioned, but prints, inherently, can be reproduced for wide distribution... Curator: Precisely. This isn't just a record of a performance, but a manufactured commodity, part of a larger system of entertainment and consumption. So, seeing the production of this print makes me rethink how it impacted its historical perception, but even its cultural status today. Editor: That really reframes how I’m looking at the piece – from just an artistic representation to something deeply embedded in the socio-economic structures of its time. Thank you.