Ôkawa Hashizô I als Tenjiku Kanja 1848

This is a woodblock print of Ôkawa Hashizô I als Tenjiku Kanja, created by Utagawa Sadamasu II. Prints like this one, made in Japan, were often inexpensive and made for a mass market, contributing to a flourishing popular culture. This print depicts a Kabuki actor, easily recognizable by the highly stylized make-up. The actor’s exaggerated features and the symbolic colours of his costume, codified according to tradition, would have signaled the character he was playing. Kabuki was a popular entertainment for the merchant classes in Japan, who often enjoyed flaunting their wealth in ways that were frowned upon by the ruling Samurai class, and the Kabuki theatre became associated with the values of this emerging social class. Understanding the social context for works like this helps us understand how art can become intertwined with changing social norms and class tensions. By consulting historical records of Kabuki performances, and visual compendiums of Kabuki make-up we can interpret this image with greater historical awareness.