Actor Morita Kan'ya VIII as Uguisu no Jirosaku, the Palanquin Bearer

This woodblock print portrait of a Kabuki actor was produced by the mysterious ukiyo-e artist Toshusai Sharaku. The actor is depicted in character as Uguisu no Jirosaku, a palanquin bearer in a play consisting of two stories of revenge. Both hands are wrapped in sleeves and clasped in front of the chest. This seems to be a pose from 'Modori Kago,' a dance performance that was popular at the time. The individuality of the subject is brought out in several ways. Take the way the beautiful colors of the kimono are set against the black mica background, for example. Also noteworthy are the gentle dynamism of the pose and the idiosyncratic expression of the eyes. These are all characteristic features of Sharaku's brilliant works. Sharaku was only active for 10 months, during which he produced his works in 4 periods. This print is one of the 28 works from Sharaku's first artistic period.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.