Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô IV as Taira no Tomomori Disguised as Tokaiya Gimpei in “Yoshitsune’s Thousand Cherry Trees” (“Yoshitsune sembon-zakura”)

This Katsukawa Shunsho print at the Art Institute of Chicago documents Ichikawa Danjuro IV in one of kabuki's most demanding roles: Taira no Tomomori disguised as Tokaiya Gimpei in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (Yoshitsune's Thousand Cherry Trees), one of the three great classical masterpieces of the Japanese theatrical canon. Originally composed for bunraku puppet theater in 1747 and quickly adapted to the kabuki stage, the play dramatizes the aftermath of the Genpei War and the famous escape of Minamoto no Yoshitsune from his vengeful brother Yoritomo. The Tomomori character, a Taira commander believed dead at the Battle of Dan-no-ura but who in the play has survived and lives in disguise as the ferryman Tokaiya Gimpei, gives the actor extraordinary scope: the role demands ordinary man and aristocratic ghost-warrior in succession, with the climactic revelation of Tomomori's identity providing one of the most spectacular moments in kabuki. Ichikawa Danjuro IV, head of the most prestigious acting lineage in Edo, brought his characteristic bravura to the part, and Shunsho's portrait captures the dual nature of the character: the disguised ferryman's bearing already hints at the warrior beneath. As founder of the Katsukawa school, Shunsho revolutionized Edo ukiyo-e yakusha-e by replacing the generic types of the Torii tradition with individual likeness, and his Danjuro IV portraits constitute an important body of evidence for the appearance and stage presence of this leading actor. The Art Institute impression preserves Shunsho's firm draughtsmanship and the carefully managed tonal organization that defined Katsukawa school production at its peak in the Meiwa and An'ei eras.