Ichimura Takenojō V as Yukanba Kozō Kichiza, from A Modern Water Margin (Kinsei suikoden)

Ichimura Takenojo V as Yukanba Kozo Kichiza, from A Modern Water Margin (Kinsei suikoden), is an 1862 yakusha-e by Utagawa Kunisada in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. By the end of his career, Kunisada - working under the inherited name Toyokuni III - had designed thousands of actor portraits and remained the dominant force in Edo ukiyo-e publishing despite the rise of younger artists. The print belongs to one of the many Suikoden-themed series that pair kabuki stars with the bandit heroes of the Chinese vernacular novel Shuihu zhuan, here cast in a Modern (kinsei) framing rather than the more usual mitate prototype. Ichimura Takenojo V appears as Yukanba Kozo Kichiza, a young kabuki role known for impudent charm, while the cartouche signals his pairing with a Suikoden outlaw. Kunisada renders the figure in three-quarter view with the elongated jaw and small mouth that defined his late bijin and yakusha conventions, and dresses him in a robe whose patterned stripes catch the light against a darker plain ground. The palette is heavy in cochineal pink, dark indigo, and a burnished black, characteristic of Bunkyu-era Edo block printing as imported aniline dyes began to mingle with traditional mineral pigments. The series is one of many examples of how Kunisada repackaged Chinese literary heroes for the Edo audience, leveraging the prestige of kabuki actors to drive print sales. The Met's impression demonstrates strong key block printing and full color survival.