Natori Shunsen
Japanese, 1886-1960

Kabuki theater presented stories of high drama and romantic intrigue that captured the imagination of all levels of Japanese society during the Edo Period (1603-1867). Since only men performed kabuki, which means “art of singing and dancing,” some actors specialized in female roles. These two characters are the leads from the play The Love Messenger of Yamato. The play follows the affair between a beautiful courtesan and a lowly messenger, which leads to their tragic double suicide.

In the “new print” movement (shin hanga) of the early 20th century, print publisher Watanabe Shozaburo revitalized the production of traditional kabuki actor prints. Though there was little interest in these subjects in Japan at the time, Watanabe marketed his artists’ prints to Europe and America, where they became immensely popular. The Toledo Museum of Art has a large and important collection of shin hanga prints.

Color woodblock print, 1927
Gift of H.D. Bennett, 1939.234