Actor Jitsukawa Enjaku II as Danshichi 1926

Natori Shunsen made this woodblock print of Actor Jitsukawa Enjaku II as Danshichi, but we don't know exactly when. The thing that really gets me about this piece is the way the artist uses these blocks of color to create such a strong sense of depth and emotion. Look at the way the red around the eyes pops against the pale skin, that contrast is everything! It's so interesting how the texture of the wood grain is visible, adding a layer of rawness to the whole image. It's almost like you can feel the artist's hand at work, carving out the shapes and lines. I also love how the checkered pattern on the shirt adds this modern touch to a traditional subject. You can see echoes of earlier Ukiyo-e masters in Shunsen's work, but he brings his own modern sensibility to it, playing with abstraction and simplification. It's a conversation across time, each artist building on what came before, but also pushing things in new directions. It’s a constant reinvention.