Ichikawa Ebizô V as Togashi Saemon and Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII as Musashibô Benkei in Kanjinchô (The Subscription List), plate 18 from the series Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays (Jûhachiban no uchi)

This print of about 1852 by Utagawa Kunisada depicts the actors Ichikawa Ebizo V as Togashi Saemon and Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Musashibo Benkei in "Kanjincho" (The Subscription List), plate 18 in the series "Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays (Juhachiban no uchi)." The print is in the Art Institute of Chicago. "Kanjincho" is one of the most celebrated of all kabuki plays, an adaptation of the Noh play "Ataka" devised in 1840 by Ichikawa Danjuro VII as a vehicle for the Ichikawa lineage; the Juhachiban (Eighteen Great Plays) is the canonical Danjuro repertoire. The drama recounts the fleeing Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his loyal retainer Benkei disguised as monks at the Ataka barrier, where the perceptive border guard Togashi confronts Benkei and ultimately allows them to pass. The encounter between Benkei and Togashi is one of the high points of the kabuki canon. Ichikawa Ebizo V, who had been Ichikawa Danjuro VII before retiring under that name during the Tempo Reform exile, plays Togashi opposite his son Danjuro VIII as Benkei, making the print a record of intra-family theatrical succession. Kunisada's design captures the climactic confrontation with monumental figure work, dramatic textile pattern, and the careful actor likenesses for which the Toyokuni III period is known. The series itself, dedicated to the Eighteen Great Plays, was one of Kunisada's significant late-career contributions to the visual celebration of the Ichikawa Danjuro line.