The Actor Ichikawa Danjuro II as Soga no Goro

Ichikawa Danjuro II (1688-1758), the second head of the most prestigious actor lineage in Edo kabuki, is shown by Torii Kiyomasu II in the role of Soga no Goro - that is, Soga no Tokimune, the younger of the two Soga brothers whose revenge for their murdered father is dramatised in the Soga vengeance cycle. The Ichikawa Danjuro line had been founded by Ichikawa Danjuro I (1660-1704) in the late seventeenth century and had supplied Edo kabuki with its definitive style of aragoto (rough-business) performance - the bombastic, exaggerated mode of acting characterised by red and black makeup (kumadori), oversized costume, and aggressive stance that became the visual signature of Edo theatrical machismo. Danjuro II inherited the role of Soga no Goro from his father, who had played it many times during his career, and the Ichikawa family's identification with the Soga revenge play is one of the deepest hereditary associations in the entire Edo theatrical canon. The character of Soga no Goro is the volatile younger brother, paired with his more level-headed elder brother Soga no Juro (Soga no Sukenari), whose passion drives the long pursuit of vengeance that culminates in the brothers' attack on Kudo Suketsune at the foot of Mount Fuji. Kiyomasu II's hosoban tan-e composition shows Danjuro II in the classic aragoto stance, with the heavy contour line and bowed-leg pose codified by the founding generation of the Torii school. The Art Institute of Chicago dates this print to circa 1725, placing it firmly within the period of Kiyomasu II's mature production. Held at the Art Institute of Chicago.