Noh & Kabuki

An actor freezes mid-gesture, eyes crossed, in the pose called a mie. Japanese woodblock prints of Kabuki actors and Noh drama here run from the 1860s to the 1980s, with a large group from 1922 to 1926. Kabuki prints were the celebrity portraits of their day, sold to fans of particular actors and roles. Tsukioka Kogyo devoted much of his career to Noh, and prints of the late 1890s capture its masks and costumes, while Yamamura Toyonari’s actor portraits belong to the 1920s.

Earlier work includes paired prints dated 1862, prints of the late 1860s and 1871, and actor portraits in the line of Utagawa Kunisada. A diptych from the 1920s, an Osaka school print of 1922, and prints from around 1930 and 1987 extend the range. Hang a framed actor print by a doorway, where it can make its entrance daily. Drama, kept to a very small stage.