Dimensions 14 1/2 × 9 15/16 in. (36.83 × 25.24 cm) (image)23 × 19 × 1 1/2 in. (58.42 × 48.26 × 3.81 cm) (outer frame)
Natori Shunsen made this woodblock print of the movie actor Hayashi Chōjirō as Yukinojō. I imagine Shunsen carefully carving the block, applying each color with precision, building up the image layer by layer, so much patience! The background feels like a whisper, grey and blurred, making Yukinojō the focus. Look at the details, the fan, the hair ornaments, they're not just decorative; they're part of the story. I wonder what Shunsen was thinking as he made this image. The care and the close observation here feel so modern to me. He captures a feeling, not just an image. It feels like a conversation across time.
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In 1935, Yukinojō henge, in English known as The Revenge of Yukinojō, was the most successful movie for the producer Shochiku until that point. Hayashi Chōjirō (Hasegawa Kazuo, 1908–1984) played the lead role of Nakamura Yukinojō. He was trained as a kabuki actor but then became an extremely popular movie actor who appeared in 290 films between 1927 and 1963.
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