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Toshusai Sharaku(東洲斎写楽)

It was only ten months between 1794 and 1795 that Toshusai Sharaku worked as an ukiyo-e painter. But in the meantime, he has left over 140 kabuki actor portraits.

Mysterious ukiyo-e artist

Although many people made various theories who Sharaku was, no one can’t find any definitive proof. Only limited people, such as the publisher Tsutaya Juzaburo (蔦屋重三郎) who also published the pictures of Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai knew the identity.

Except for some of the sumo wrestlers, most of his paintings were Yakusha-e(pictures depicting popular kabuki actors).

Especially the painting using the same method as Utamaro’s beautiful women portrait ookubi-e(大首絵) had the power to overwhelm the others. Toshusai Sharaku drew the upper half of the actor’s body. Addition to that, he boldly deformed and depicted the expression of kabuki actor on the stage.

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Sharaku's Otani Oniji and Ichikawa Omezo ukiyo-e prints

Famous Japanese kabuki actor woodblock print, "Otani Oniji as Edobei" by Toshusai Sharaku Otani Oniji as Edobei When it comes to talking about Toshusai Sharaku (?-?), we can hardly discuss without taking the bold woodblock print into account. The name of the artwork is "Otani Oniji as Edobei". More precisely, the actor is Otani Oniji Ⅲ (1759–96). Thought it is a common saying that his fingers are really awkward and small compared with the size of the face, but th...

Such pictures could not hold out against the pictures of people who were advanced including Utagawa Toyokuni and Katsukawa Shun^ei. Tsutaya Juzaburo had never published a picture with Toshusai Sharaku’s signature and seal since February 1795.