Actors Segawa Kikunojô II as Reizei, Ichikawa Komazô I as Suruga no Hachirô, and Ichikawa Yaozô II as Tada no Kurando in “The Genji Clan Now at Its Zenith” (“Ima o sakari suehiro Genji”)

This Katsukawa Shunsho composition in the Art Institute of Chicago assembles three leading actors of the Edo stage, Segawa Kikunojo II as Reizei, Ichikawa Komazo I as Suruga no Hachiro, and Ichikawa Yaozo II as Tada no Kurando, in a scene from Ima o sakari suehiro Genji (The Genji Clan Now at Its Zenith). The play belonged to the genre of jidaimono, historical dramas drawn from the medieval warrior past that supplied kabuki with much of its grandest material. Shunsho's grouping of three figures across a single sheet exemplifies the compositional ambition of the Katsukawa school at its peak: rather than reducing the scene to a single actor portrait, the design preserves the dramatic geometry of the staged moment, with each performer's pose, costume, and facial expression contributing to the unified narrative tableau. Kikunojo II was one of the era's most celebrated onnagata, while Komazo I and Yaozo II both represented branches of the prolific Ichikawa acting lineage. Shunsho's portrait method, which captured individual likeness rather than generic theatrical types, allowed Edo ukiyo-e collectors to recognize each star instantly. This collaborative innovation, central to the rise of the Katsukawa school as the dominant force in late eighteenth-century yakusha-e, transformed the way Edo audiences consumed images of their stage idols. The Art Institute impression preserves the careful registration of multiple color blocks across a complex three-figure composition, a technically demanding accomplishment that demonstrates the production capabilities of Shunsho's publishing collaborators. Prints documenting Ima o sakari suehiro Genji remain valuable primary sources for reconstructing the visual culture of mid-eighteenth-century kabuki.