The actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII (Ebizo V) as Shirafuji Genta in the play "Sono Uwasa Sakura no Irodoki," from the series "Yakusha oiri sakazuki"
- Date:
- 1825
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
This 1825 print by Utagawa Toyokuni, held in the Art Institute of Chicago, shows Ichikawa Danjuro VII, then performing under the name Ebizo V, in the role of Shirafuji Genta in the play Sono Uwasa [Sakura](/glossary/sakura) no Irodoki. It is part of the series Yakusha oiri sakazuki, a coordinated group of actor portraits that paired star likenesses with the celebratory imagery of toast cups, a motif tied to theatrical good fortune. Toyokuni was the leading designer of Edo [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) [yakusha-e](/glossary/yakusha-e), and this sheet typifies his late style. The actor is rendered three-quarter length, with the face given particular care so that Danjuro VII's recognizable features come through even within the heavy stage costume. Pattern, sword hilt, and hairstyle are all calibrated to identify the role with precision. The series framework allowed Toyokuni to celebrate not just an individual performance but the broader fact of the actor's box office success, a recurring theme in the publicity ecosystem of late Edo kabuki. Audiences would have read the cartouche, the toast cup motif, and the specific role together as an integrated package of theatrical celebrity. The print's presence in a major American collection indicates how seriously such yakusha-e have been treated by scholars as documents of Edo theater and as accomplished examples of Toyokuni's mature graphic vocabulary.
early 1830s
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
1796
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
1769–1825
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
c. 1830/35
Color woodblock print; oban
![Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0960668-1e73-339a-b182-fb995a54bff0/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
1947
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
The actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII (Ebizo V) as Shirafuji Genta in the play "Sono Uwasa Sakura no Irodoki," from the series "Yakusha oiri sakazuki" was created by Utagawa Toyokuni I (歌川豊国) in 1825.
The actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII (Ebizo V) as Shirafuji Genta in the play "Sono Uwasa Sakura no Irodoki," from the series "Yakusha oiri sakazuki" depicts mount fuji.