The actor Matsumoto Koshiro V as Ishikawa Goemon in the play "Sanmon Gosan no Kiri," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the third month, 1810

Utagawa Toyokuni's 1810 print commemorates a third-month production at the Ichimura Theater in which the actor Matsumoto Koshiro V took the role of the legendary bandit Ishikawa Goemon in the play "Sanmon Gosan no Kiri." Ishikawa Goemon, a folk-hero outlaw who in legend was boiled alive in a cauldron, became one of the great showcase roles of the Edo kabuki stage, particularly for the famous scene atop the gate of the Nanzenji temple, from which Goemon declares the splendor of the cherry blossoms below. Koshiro V was among the most powerful interpreters of the aragoto style, and Toyokuni gives his pose all the grandiose presence the part demands.

The yakusha-e captures Goemon in a moment of theatrical bravura, with patterned robes, sash, and prop weapon arranged to maximize visual impact. Toyokuni's Utagawa-school line, now mature and economical, defines the figure with confidence, and the print's color blocks build up costume and background without overwhelming the actor's individuated features. The full inscription of theater, month, and year, characteristic of Edo ukiyo-e at this date, fixes the production with documentary precision.

Now in the Art Institute of Chicago, the print testifies to the close cooperation between the Edo theaters, the publishing houses, and the Utagawa school in marketing the kabuki season. For modern viewers it provides both a vivid portrait of one of the era's signature performers and a visual entry point into one of the most enduring roles in the kabuki canon. Toyokuni's design embodies the synthesis of celebrity portraiture, narrative theater, and woodblock craft that defined the highest achievements of Edo yakusha-e.