Ichikawa Sadanji IV as Sagisaka Bannai in "Michiyuki Tabiji no Hana Muko"

This print records Ichikawa Sadanji IV (b. 1946) as Sagisaka Bannai, the comic-villain henchman of Kō no Moronao in the Chūshingura cycle. 'Michiyuki Tabiji no Hana Muko' is the lyrical michiyuki (travel scene) in which Bannai pursues the lovers Okaru and Kanpei, his clownish swagger contrasted against their plight. The role is acted in a half-villain register, marked by exaggerated eyebrows, a reddened nose, and a stylised gait. Kokei's ōkubi-e format would frame Bannai's painted face in close detail, the registration of three or four blocks producing the sharp keyline characteristic of his Kabuki-za designs. Working alone on ganpi paper, Kokei achieves ink saturation that commercial workshops do not attempt, since the paper is too costly and slow to print at scale. The image is one in a long sequence of portraits documenting Chūshingura roles cycled through the Tokyo theatre during Kokei's tenure as resident artist (1978–2000).