# The Actor Morita Kanya VIII as Tatsugorō

**Katsukawa Shun'ei** (Japanese, 1762–1819)  
1794 (Kansei 6)  
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper  
H. 12 1/8 in. (30.8 cm); W. 5 9/16 in. (14.1 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, JP1302. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/55241).

## About this work

Katsukawa Shun'ei designed this in 1794 (Kansei 6), aged 32. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Colour woodblock print.** In Japan these were a team effort. The artist drew the design, a carver cut it into cherry-wood blocks, one block for each colour, and a printer brushed on the pigment and rubbed each sheet by hand. Full-colour prints of this kind were called nishiki-e, “brocade pictures”, from the 1760s on.

### [Katsukawa Shun'ei](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/katsukawa-shun-ei)

Japanese, 1762–1819

## Facts

- Type: Prints
- Culture: Japan
- The artist was 32
- Real size: about 12 × 5½ in (31 × 14 cm). Closest to life size: the 11 × 14 in print.
- Century: 18th century
- Movement: [Ukiyo-e](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/ukiyo-e)
- Subjects: Men, Actors
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/943.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/943/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-actor-morita-kanya-viii-as-tatsugoro-met-55241).