Actor Bandō Hikosaburō V as Teraoka Heiemon

A color ōban woodblock print of 1862 in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, this Actor Bandō Hikosaburō V as Teraoka Heiemon pictures Bandō Hikosaburō V (1832–1877) in the role of Teraoka Heiemon from the classic vendetta drama Kanadehon chūshingura (The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers). Hikosaburō V — also recorded as Bandō Mitsugorō VI in some sources after his name change later in the 1860s — was one of the senior tachiyaku of the late-Edo stage, leading actor at the Ichimura-za and a celebrated interpreter of both heroic and historical roles. Teraoka Heiemon is a secondary but significant role in the Chūshingura cycle, a retainer who serves the loyal vendetta party and whose Act VII appearance (the famous Ichiriki teahouse scene) is one of the dramatic centerpieces of the play. The composition follows the Utagawa-school actor-portrait formula with attention to costume detail and the celebrated mie (climactic pose) that distinguished Hikosaburō's performance, and the print belongs to the productive 1862 Chūshingura season.