Shakkyo, the Lion Dance Bookmark

Katsukawa Shunshō
Shakkyō, the Lion Dance, c. 1787–1788

Katsukawa Shunshō (Japanese, 1726–1792) was a noted painter, printmaker, and teacher, and founder of the influential Katsukawa printmaking school. He is celebrated for his groundbreaking woodblock prints depicting individualized Kabuki actors rather than stereotypical characters. In Kabuki tradition, the Shakkyo, a legendary stone bridge in China, is often shown as a background for the traditional Chinese lion dance. In Shakkyō, the Lion Dance, Katsukawa Shunshō illustrates this favorite drama in ink, color, and gold on a silk hanging scroll, now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.