Yozoku Orochimaru, Yokyoku no tsurigane-so (Yozoku Orochimaru, Bellflower) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))

Yozoku Orochimaru, Yokyoku no tsurigane-so (Yozoku Orochimaru, Bellflower) is a yakusha-e from Utagawa Kunisada's Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers / Immortals of Poetry), in which a star Edo kabuki actor in the role of the night-bandit serpent-hero Orochimaru is paired with a classical poetic immortal and assigned the bellflower (tsurigane-so), its hanging blossom an apt counterpart to a character whose magic and menace operate through nocturnal stealth. Orochimaru belongs to the cycle of Jiraiya magical-villain dramas and its derivatives, and Kunisada designed numerous portraits of actors taking the role across decades. He presents the figure with intense expression, patterned robe, and dynamic pose, the cartouches at top carrying the series title and the assigned flower. As the dominant designer of yakusha-e in nineteenth-century Edo ukiyo-e, Kunisada used the mitate sanju-rokkasen framework to bring classical poetic associations into the world of contemporary kabuki celebrity. The British Museum impression catalogued at ukiyo-e.org provides a reliable reference for study. Source: ukiyo-e.org / British Museum (https://ukiyo-e.org/image/bm/AN00431679_001_l).