Kabuki Actor by Kunisada Utagawa T-Shirt

Kabuki Actor. Yakusha-e actor print by Kunisada Utagawa. Yakusha-e (役者絵), often referred to as "actor prints" in English, are Japanese woodblock prints or, rarely, paintings, of kabuki actors, particularly those done in the ukiyo-e style popular through the Edo period (1603–1867) and into the beginnings of the 20th century. Most strictly, the term yakusha-e refers solely to portraits of individual artists. Utagawa Kunisada (1786 - 1865) (Japanese: 歌川国貞, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III 三代歌川豊国 ) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.