Minamoto no Shitago / Mitate sanjurokkasen no uchi

Minamoto no Shitago, from the series Mitate sanjurokkasen no uchi (One of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets in Parody), is a yakusha-e by Utagawa Kunisada that uses the classical roster of the thirty-six immortal poets as a literary framework for portraits of contemporary Edo kabuki actors. Minamoto no Shitago (911-983) was a tenth-century scholar and poet known for his entries in the Shui Wakashu and Wakan roeishu and counted among the lesser-celebrated immortals; in Kunisada's mitate design, the actor takes Shitago's identity as a parodic mask while remaining a recognisable figure of the contemporary stage. The poet's name and an associated waka are typically inscribed in a cartouche at top, while the actor is depicted half-length in patterned robe, hair arranged to suit the role being alluded to. Kunisada, the most prolific Edo ukiyo-e designer of yakusha-e in his generation, made the mitate of the thirty-six immortals one of his favourite armatures, returning to it across multiple series. The impression is preserved at the British Museum and indexed on ukiyo-e.org. Source: ukiyo-e.org / British Museum (https://ukiyo-e.org/image/bm/AN00429909_001_l).