Kanjincho

Kanjincho is among the most celebrated plays in the kabuki repertoire — a dramatization of the 1185 flight of Yoshitsune and his loyal retainer Benkei through a checkpoint. Kotondo's 1935 painting depicts a scene or character from this beloved play, bringing his painter's sensibility to one of the great theatrical subjects of the Japanese stage. The work demonstrates the range of Kotondo's practice beyond his celebrated woodblock prints, encompassing the painting tradition in which he was equally trained.