Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Watanabe no Tsuna and Segawa Kikunojō V as the Female Demon, in “Modori Bridge” (Modoribashi)
- Date:
- 1833
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; surimono
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Dated 1833, this Utagawa Kunisada yakusha-e portrays Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Watanabe no Tsuna and Segawa Kikunojō V as the Female Demon, in the dance-drama "Modori Bridge (Modoribashi)." The piece dramatizes the classical legend of Watanabe no Tsuna - one of Minamoto no Yorimitsu's four loyal retainers - encountering a beautiful woman on the Modoribashi (Returning Bridge) at Ichijō who reveals herself as a demon. Kabuki adaptations made the moment of transformation a virtuoso onnagata showcase, and Kunisada's print captures both performers at the dramatic pivot, with the masculine hero confronting his female-presenting antagonist. The Ichikawa-Segawa pairing was prestigious, combining the aragoto authority of the Danjūrō line with the onnagata refinement of the Segawa line. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves the impression (artwork 81302). As Edo ukiyo-e, the design demonstrates Kunisada's signature handling of supernatural-meets-historical kabuki material, where the printed sheet does double work: theatrical record, fan memento, and visualization of a legend that long predated the kabuki adaptation but had become inseparable from its stage realization.
1859
Color woodblock print; oban
Edo period (1603–1867)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, creped
1825
Color woodblock print; oban
c. 1847-52
Color woodblock print
![Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0960668-1e73-339a-b182-fb995a54bff0/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
1947
Color woodblock print; oban
1926
Color woodblock print; oban
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Watanabe no Tsuna and Segawa Kikunojō V as the Female Demon, in “Modori Bridge” (Modoribashi) was created by Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) in 1833.
Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Watanabe no Tsuna and Segawa Kikunojō V as the Female Demon, in “Modori Bridge” (Modoribashi) depicts bridges.