Description
Ichikawa Danjūrō V appears as a samurai ready to fight, making anticipation an essential part of Katsukawa Shunshō’s subject. A wide stance anchors the samurai beneath a bold, rounded red motif on the upper robe, with dark and pale layers adding weight to the costume. The hand’s position near a weapon intensifies the sense of readiness, giving the figure a poised, physical tension.
Made around 1771, the nishiki-e print uses ink and color on paper. Shunshō gives an impending action a lasting form, allowing the role’s tension to remain available beyond the live performance. The image’s interest lies in the interval between preparation and encounter, where the figure’s assumed warrior identity is defined by the possibility of conflict. Danjūrō remains the performer who embodies that situation, joining individual recognition to the dramatic pressure of a moment still unfolding.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Katsukawa Shunshō collection.
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