For my PhD dissertation I analysed large quantities of pre-modern actor prints and other theatre ephemera, to explore the relationship between Kabuki performance and the visual realm. By using digital archives it was possible to compare large numbers of images, cutting across all media from the decorative arts to painting; I utilised various museums' large digital image databases to maximum effect. I was able to construct a new methodology for comparing specific acting patterns from looking through many ukiyo-e woodblock prints and illustrated books and this method revealed that kabuki performance had a clear, demonstrable impact on early modern visual culture.