Onoe Matsusuke II holding a letter c. 1811 - 1815

Curator: Here we have Utagawa Toyokuni I's woodblock print, "Onoe Matsusuke II holding a letter," likely created sometime between 1811 and 1815. He seems quite troubled, doesn't he? Editor: Indeed! He appears to be standing, unceremoniously, in the nude from the knees down and looks positively livid, as though this news is going to make him late for tea. It is compelling that one of the few vibrant spots is that tightly held letter, which serves as the only bit of action in a subdued color field. Curator: What's fascinating is how Toyokuni, though part of the Utagawa school known for its depictions of Kabuki actors, offers us more than just a pretty face. This portrait feels unusually…raw, almost unidealized for the time. Editor: Absolutely, the letter. It is the symbolic key. In a culture steeped in rituals of letter-writing – where calligraphy, paper, even the choice of ink conveyed so much meaning— this singular sheet suggests a disruption. Curator: Precisely! I wonder if he's just been handed his character's dismissal papers! He embodies that wonderful performative outrage, a heightened, stylized fury meant for the stage but momentarily laid bare for us. Editor: Consider too the bare feet—typically hidden—signifying a stripping away of social artifice. It exposes vulnerability but also perhaps a defiance, a "here I am, take me as I am" sentiment. Like he can drop character to take on reality at a moments notice, though not quite dressed for it. Curator: Though his face conveys a rich mix of stagecraft and human frailty. He's trapped between his roles, it seems. Editor: Do you get the sense this piece speaks about cultural anxiety? Like that period of rapid social and economic shifts, where the old codes were being challenged, like that is the cultural moment reflected in those eyes? The weight of expectations clashing with the individual's desires. Curator: You may well be on to something there. The Tokugawa period was experiencing its fair share of tensions and upheavals beneath a veneer of peace. To see an actor, a symbol of entertainment and stability, looking so agitated reflects some of those tensions back at us. A subtle reflection of a world in transition. Editor: I am going to be staring at that letter and its implicit disruption for hours now. Curator: And I shall be contemplating how this rather fabulous actor channels my own struggles with Mondays. A perfect match of past and present.