Toshusai Sharaku

Toshusai Sharaku was an ukiyo-e artist who published more than 140 nishiki-e prints in about ten months, from May 1794 (Kansei 6) to January of the following year. After that he vanished, and his origins and career are unknown. The theory that he was Saito Jurobei, a Noh actor of the Awa Tokushima domain, is considered the most likely.

All of his works were published by the shop of Tsutaya Juzaburo. The twenty-eight large-format bust portraits of actors against a mica-dusted background, published in May 1794, drew the most attention, and works such as Otani Oniji III as Edobei the Servant and Ichikawa Ebizo as Takemura Sadanoshin are his representative works. By capturing facial features such as the wrinkles around the eyes and hooked noses in detail, he boldly depicted the individuality of each actor.

His realistic expression divided opinion even at the time. His contemporary Ota Nanpo wrote in Ukiyoe Ruiko that he had tried so hard to paint the truth that his work did not circulate for long, showing that it drew a reaction both good and bad.