Portrait of a high-ranking samurai,

ca. 1803

Utagawa Toyokuni I is known primarily as a designer of woodblock prints, specifically for “likeness pictures” (nigao-e) of kabuki actors. Although we can think of those works as portraits, their resemblance to the depicted subjects could be very generalized, unlike the careful use of detail and shading on the face here. Portraits of the warrior class—the highest tier of society in the Edo period—are very rare. Although the precise identity of this sitter is currently unknown, the clan crest, or kamon, visible on his stiff formal robes was used by several warrior families originating in the Shikoku and Kyushu areas in southwestern Japan. Only members of the warrior class were permitted to wear two swords: his short sword is at his waist while his longer sword rests on a stand visible behind him. His facial features are carefully rendered with extremely fine brushstrokes, and the quality of the pigments used in the work—rich cobalt blue and gold—demonstrate that this was an expensive commission.