MAN STANDING ON BEACH BY WATER 

Curator: Immediately I am struck by how vulnerable this figure appears despite the sword. Editor: This is Katsukawa Shun'ei's woodblock print, "Man Standing on Beach by Water," held at the Harvard Art Museums. Shun'ei, born in 1762, was a prominent Ukiyo-e artist. Curator: The lantern casts an eerie glow, almost like a spotlight. Is this a stage? Is he performing a role, or is he caught in a moment of private contemplation? Editor: Ukiyo-e prints were often connected to the Kabuki theatre, and popular actors were often depicted, but the social status implied by carrying a sword suggests this could be a samurai. Curator: The sword could signify power, but also a burden. He seems weighed down by it, almost apologetic. I wonder about the cultural weight of such an object and its symbolic charge. Editor: It certainly presents us with a rich set of questions about status and presentation. What an evocative work from Shun'ei!