The Actor Arashi Hinaji as the maiko Uriuno in the play "Ume ya Suisen Izu no Irifune," performed at the Morita Theater in the eleventh month, 1763 1763

This is a woodblock print by Torii Kiyomitsu created around 1763, depicting the actor Arashi Hinaji. We see him here in the role of a maiko, or apprentice geisha, in the play "Ume ya Suisen Izu no Irifune." During the Edo period in Japan, woodblock prints like this one were not simply art objects, they were also a form of popular media. Prints like this were ways for the public to engage with the Kabuki theatre, where all roles were performed by men. They also provided a space for gender play that was both performative and representational. The artist does not try to hide the masculinity of the actor. Arashi Hinaji, in the guise of Uriuno, gazes demurely to the side, holding a small table decorated with chrysanthemums. The flowers and patterns on his robe draw our attention to the constructed nature of identity, of the way gender can be put on like a costume. Prints like these allowed audiences to carry a piece of the performance home with them. They prompt us to consider the blurred lines between the stage, the street, and the print itself, and to reflect on the fluidity of identity in the context of Japanese theatre.