Actor Bando Mitsugoro as Katsuyori 

Editor: This is Utagawa Kuniyasu's print of Actor Bando Mitsugoro as Katsuyori. It’s quite striking, with all the bold patterns in the robe. How do you interpret this work, especially considering its symbolic weight? Curator: The actor print, or *yakusha-e*, is rich with cultural memory. The actor's pose, the costume's patterns – they all signal specific character traits and narratives familiar to the audience. What emotions do the symbols evoke for you? Editor: I guess I didn’t realize that each pattern would trigger a different set of emotions. I was just looking at the overall design. Curator: Exactly! These prints weren't just portraits; they were a form of visual shorthand, instantly communicating complex stories through recognizable symbols. We can think about what these theatrical symbols meant to Kuniyasu’s contemporaries, and what they might mean for us today.