Art Archive • Sharaku

Ukiyo-e

Ōkubi-e

Nakajima Wadaemon and Nakamura Konozō as Bōdara no Chōzaemon and Kanagawaya no Gon

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Two actor faces paired in one ōkubi-e frame, expressions deliberately contrasted — Nakajima Wadaemon and Nakamura Konozō as Bōdara no Chōzaemon and Kanagawaya no Gon. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain).
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Tōshūsai Sharaku. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain).

About this work

A rare double portrait — Nakajima Wadaemon and Nakamura Konozō as a priest and shop man from A Medley of Tales of Revenge.

Two performers share one sheet: Nakajima Wadaemon as the priest Bōdara no Chōzaemon and Nakamura Konozō as Kanagawaya no Gon. Paired faces double the psychological charge.

View on The Met

Viewing notes

Compare the two profiles — Sharaku sets social type through juxtaposition.

Look for the seam where compositions meet; doubles are rarer in the 1794 set.

Mica ground unifies the pair while faces remain in argumentative dialogue.

Extended Japanese viewing notes: 中島和田右衛門と中村此蔵.

画面のどこかをクリックすると、音量をゆっくり上げつつ環境音が始まります。