The villain Fujikawa Mizuemon of the play Hana ayame Bunroku Soga — eyes cutting sideways, mouth dragged down — the man the whole revenge plot exists to punish. Sharaku’s villains outdo his heroes: malice interested him more than glamour, and no printmaker before or since has caught it as economically. The menace is carried almost entirely by the mouth’s downward pull and the white of the eye — a full performance in two carved shapes. Every revenge needs a man like this, waiting.

Maker: Tōshūsai Sharaku
Date: 1794
Medium of the original: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Rights: Cleared for print
Catalogue number: PA-00408

As chosen: 8 x 12 in, art print, classic frame
Picture	8 x 12 in
Outside size	9.6 x 13.6 in
Depth	0.9 in (22 mm)
Weight	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: shipped weight per size and frame]]
Hanging	[[REAL PROOF NEEDED: hanging hardware Prodigi fits to this frame]]
Material	Enhanced matte art paper, 200 gsm; acrylic glazing
Made in	Charlotte, North Carolina, by Prodigi

Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.

How the print check works

Sizes offered
Size	dpi	Grade	How it fits
8 x 12 in	210	Excellent	Trimmed 2.5%

Sizes withheld
Size	Why
8 x 10 in	Wrong shape: a 19% crop
11 x 14 in	Wrong shape: a 17% crop
12 x 16 in	Wrong shape: a 13% crop
12 x 18 in	140 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
16 x 20 in	Wrong shape: a 19% crop
16 x 24 in	105 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
18 x 24 in	Wrong shape: a 13% crop
20 x 30 in	84 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
24 x 30 in	Wrong shape: a 19% crop
24 x 36 in	70 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged
30 x 40 in	Wrong shape: a 13% crop
36 x 48 in	Wrong shape: a 13% crop
40 x 60 in	42 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged