Actor Osagawa Tsuneyo 2nd from the Play "Koi Nyobo Somewake Tazuna - Yoshitsune Senbon-Zakura" (Kawarazaki-za) Possibly 1794 - 1795

Editor: This is Tōshūsai Sharaku's print of "Actor Osagawa Tsuneyo 2nd," and the lines and colors feel so graphic. How do you interpret this work with its emphasis on the actor's features? Curator: The scale of production and the use of woodblock printing are critical. This wasn't simply art for art's sake, but a form of cultural production deeply embedded in the Edo period's burgeoning consumer culture. How do you see the actor's portrayal fitting into that context? Editor: It suggests the commercialization of fame, but also the skill involved in printmaking. I now see how materiality is tied to the society that produced it. Curator: Precisely. Considering both the actor's fame and the means of disseminating his image allows us a more complete understanding.