The actors Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Mongaku and Matsumoto Koshiro V as Fudo Myoo

This vertical shikishiban-format diptych surimono of about 1829-1832 by Utagawa Kunisada depicts Ichikawa Danjuro VII as the warrior-monk Mongaku and Matsumoto Koshiro V as the wrathful Buddhist deity Fudo Myoo. Mongaku is a famous historical-religious figure: a Heian-period samurai who, after accidentally killing the woman he loved, took religious vows and devoted himself to ascetic practice, including the celebrated waterfall austerity at Nachi during which he had a vision of Fudo Myoo. Kabuki and ukiyo-e played the pairing of Mongaku and Fudo Myoo as a thematic doubling of fierce purification and Buddhist wrath. Ichikawa Danjuro VII brought his Aragoto bravura intensity to Mongaku; Matsumoto Koshiro V, one of the era's great tachiyaku rivals, played the deity itself. The vertical diptych format allowed Kunisada to stack the two figures dramatically across the two near-square sheets. Surimono production values would have included luxury effects: metallic pigments to suggest Fudo's flaming nimbus, embossing for the texture of robes and rope, and richly modulated color. The Art Institute of Chicago's holding preserves both sheets together, a fortunate circumstance given how often vertical surimono diptychs have been broken up. The print is a particularly rich example of how Kunisada combined religious iconography, kabuki performance, and luxury printing to satisfy the most sophisticated Edo collectors.