Ichikawa Danjurô XII as the hero Kamakura Gongorô in the play "Shibaraku"

This print captures Ichikawa Danjūrō XII (1946–2013) as Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa in 'Shibaraku,' a foundational entry within the Kabuki Jūhachiban and a signature aragoto vehicle of the Ichikawa line. The hero halts an unjust execution by bellowing 'Shibaraku!' — 'Wait a moment!' — from the hanamichi, then makes his entrance in the oversized persimmon-coloured suō robe, painted kumadori on his face, and a sword nearly his own height. Kokei's ōkubi-e isolates the face at the climactic mie, the cross-eyed nirami expression that defines aragoto stagecraft. The sujiguma red lines along the temples and forehead — heroic blood vessels stylised — register cleanly against the unprinted ganpi ground. Printing this design alone, Kokei could supervise the saturation of vermillion and the application of gofun or mica needed to suggest the lacquer of the mimasu crest at the shoulder. The work belongs to Kokei's documentation of Danjūrō XII in the Jūhachiban roles that defined his career.