Description
Katsukawa Shunshō gives Ichikawa Danjūrō V’s armored appearance a forward-bent, wide stance. Dense red chain-mail-like patterning wraps the costume, while a sword rises diagonally behind the actor. The repeated surface and outward movement work together, making the figure’s theatrical force feel concentrated in the angle of the body and the weight of its dress.
Tentatively dated 1786, the work is an ink-and-color woodblock print from Edo-period Japan. The uncertainty of the year should remain part of its identification rather than be converted into a precise date. Shunshō’s image preserves the performer through a particular assumed form, where armor becomes part of how another identity is made visible. The portrait invites attention to that transformation without treating the actor as an actual warrior or inventing the battle to which the role might belong.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Katsukawa Shunshō collection.
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