Print 1786 - 1854

This print was made by Utagawa Kunisada sometime before 1865. The work captures a moment in a Kabuki play, a popular form of Japanese theater, where male actors play both male and female roles. Here, we see a male actor dressed as a woman, embodying the complexities of gender and performance in Edo-period Japan. Kunisada, deeply embedded in the theatrical world, uses his art to explore these fluid identities. The figure's androgynous beauty challenges conventional gender norms, inviting us to reflect on the performative nature of identity. The watchers in the background remind us that identity is always observed, constructed through the gaze of others. Kunisada doesn't just depict a scene; he captures a layered interplay of gender, performance, and spectatorship. The emotional depth in the actor’s eyes, combined with the voyeuristic gaze of the women, creates a charged atmosphere that resonates with questions of identity and social roles that persist today.