Ichikawa Sadanji as Moroboshi Chuya 1931

Natori Shunsen made this print of Ichikawa Sadanji as Moroboshi Chuya without a date, using flat planes of colour and crisp lines. It’s all about the process, right? Like the careful layering of ink in woodblock printing, each element builds upon the last. Look at the actor's face. The skin is rendered in smooth gradients, while the bold eyebrows and defined lips give him such strong expression. The colour palette is limited, but man, does Shunsen make it work. The combination of deep blues, reds, and subtle flesh tones creates a really striking visual impact. Notice how the colours feel solid, almost like cut paper, and how the flat blocks of colour add to the print’s overall sense of drama and intensity. It kinda makes me think of Hiroshi Yoshida, another shin-hanga artist who played with light and shadow in similar ways. Art is a conversation, after all, with artists constantly riffing off each other’s ideas.