Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō V as Sakata Kintoki in the Play Raikō’s Four Intrepid Retainers in the Costume of the Night Watch (Shitennō tonoi no kisewata)

Description

Ichikawa Danjūrō V appears as Sakata Kintoki in Raikō’s Four Intrepid Retainers in the Costume of the Night Watch. The bold black robe carries large white characters that make its surface an emphatic part of the actor’s presence. Costume becomes a field of graphic force, giving the figure a striking identity before any account of the surrounding drama is considered.

Dated to the eleventh month of 1781, the nishiki-e print was made with ink and color on paper. Its detailed theatrical identification gives the image a place within Danjūrō’s working life while keeping the performer’s embodiment of the character central. Katsukawa Shunshō turns a temporary appearance into something that can be considered closely, preserving the actor’s association with Kintoki and the dramatic world in which that association took shape.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Katsukawa Shunshō collection.