Original woodblock print - Paper - 寿好堂よし国 jukodo yoshikuni (?-?) - From the series "Yakusya-e" 役者絵 (Kabuki Plays) - Japan - 1826 See Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: https://collections.mfa.org/objects/460934 Jukôdô Yoshikuni (壽好堂芳國 act. c. 1813-32), a pupil of Kyôgadô Ashikuni (狂画堂芦國), was an important artist of the 1810s-20s in Osaka. As with various other literati of the period, Yoshikuni was active in various other arts, including poetry and, of course, printmaking. He was also a highly skilled puppet-theater-style chanter (Bunraku-tayû: 文楽太夫). Many print artists composed verses as contributors to poetry anthologies or poems on prints, either individually or as members of poetry clubs (renchû: 連中). However, Yoshikuni was among the more accomplished poets, heading the Jukôdô-sha circle of print and haikai (俳諧) poetry aficionados and contributing poems to surimono (privately issued and distributed prints: 摺物). Yoshikuni designed many prints portraying not only star actors from the main theaters but also lesser-known performers from the middle theaters. Unusual for a leading artist, Yoshikuni produced portraits of Nakamura Tsurusuke I (中村鶴助 the future Utaemon IV 四世 中村歌右衛門) early in his kabuki career and years before it became clear the actor would succeed the great Nakamura Utaemon III. Yoshikuni also engaged in a wide range of collaborations (gassaku: 合作) with other artists, including Ashikuni, Ashiyuki, Hikokuni, Kunihiro, Shibakuni, and Tamikuni.