Kabuki began in the early 17th century as entertainment performed by female sex workers in Kyoto. Banned because of its questionable morality in 1629, the women were replaced by boys, which also proved morally problematic for the Tokugawa government. In 1652 they ordered that only adult males were allowed to perform and that their forelocks be shaved so there would be no question about their gender, even as they played both male and female roles.

The dramatic tales of the kabuki theatre are told in stylized movement, hand gestures, and facial expressions. A key element is the mie (見栄), a pose that is taken and sustained by an actor or actors to enhance a dramatic moment. It was these poses, filled with emotional intensity, that were used from the 17th century onward in depicting the actors in books, in woodblock prints, and in the advertising outside of theatres.

Like movie magazines and social media, books and prints made images of popular actors and their theatrical performances available to enthusiastic fans throughout Japan. This book of richly-colored, half-length portraits of kabuki actors caused a sensation when it was published. The public craved innovation in publishing and were thrilled with this new concept of costumed actors in full make-up, paired (on the opposite leaf) with images of how they looked without costumes or make-up in everyday life.

This book, by Utagawa Toyokuni’s pupil, presents another take on the theme of actors in their everyday lives—in street clothes and without make-up. The clever title, Mt. Fuji in Summer—meaning Mt. Fuji without its snow-capped peak—alludes to these actors, now unadorned. In this scene of actors conversing in their quarters in front of a memorial actor portrait, however, fans were still treated to a peek at their lavish celebrity lifestyles, with expensive silk clothing and richly appointed surroundings.

This parody of the classic Thirty-six Poets theme features portraits of actors and (what are purported to be) their poems. An unusual collaboration between two artists from rival workshops, this was an expensive publication, printed in rich shades of grey and embellished with embossed details that were made by pressing a carved, but un-inked woodblock into the soft, thick paper. Three volumes with 36 actor poets were planned, but the bankruptcy of the publisher resulted in only this single volume of 12 being published.