The Third Segawa Kikunojo as a Woman Standing, Holding a Fan 1788

Katsukawa Shun'ei made this woodblock print of the actor Segawa Kikunojo III in the late 18th or early 19th century. This image speaks to the social complexities surrounding the Kabuki theatre of Japan’s Edo period. The Kabuki theatre was hugely popular, but actors were officially outcasts. Laws limited their clothing and where they could live, and forbade them from mixing with the upper classes. Woodblock prints of actors, known as yakusha-e, became a way for Kabuki fans to collect images of their favorite performers and to express their devotion. They were commodities in a celebrity culture. The depiction of Segawa Kikunojo III, a male actor famous for playing female roles, adds a layer of complexity. On stage, Segawa would have embodied the feminine ideal of the time. Shun'ei’s print captures Segawa off stage, still in character and costume. This questions the boundaries between performance and reality. To better understand this print, we need to research the social history of the Kabuki theatre and the lives of the actors who challenged social norms through art.