Matsumoto Koshiro VII as Sukeroku 1920

This is Yamamura Toyonari’s print of Matsumoto Koshiro, an actor perhaps, or someone in a play. There’s something kind of wonderful about seeing this character so clearly, it's really declarative. You know, it’s so cool to look at work by other artists. I wonder what it was like for Toyonari to make this print? What was he thinking? Maybe something like: “I want to show you how I see this actor.” And then what? This black line that runs around the figure seems so confident, almost like calligraphy. Look at the makeup around the eyes – the red is so intense, yet contained. I wonder if, back then, artists were as influenced by each other as they are now. I'd bet they were. It's like one big ongoing conversation, you know? We're all just responding to each other across time. The joy of not knowing, of being open to seeing what happens. That's what art is all about, right?