actors with "Chronicle of the Future", Katsukawa Shunshō

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A very important figure in ukiyoe development, Shunsho founded the Katsukawa School lineage of print artists. He pioneered the genre of "nigao," or true portrait views, in his actor and sumo copositions, allowing the figures to be readily identified by facial features alone. Priot to that, kabuki actor prints depended on each artist's idealized style to atract collectors, and the actors' names or family crest had to be included on the print to identify the personality. Portraiture gave a sense of immediacy to Shunsho's images that was irresistible to Edo consumers. Shunsho's actor portraits contributed to the mounting demand for multicolor (nishikie or "brocade") prints that allowed a play-goer to bring home the colors and the excitement of the stage.

Sunsho often used the hosoban paper size of small vertical format for his single and paired actor prints, and in this rare set he designed two hosoban-sized sheets to fit together. A tableau of actors in costume are seen here examining a scroll entitled "Chronicle of the Future" [Mirai-ki].