Ichikawa Danjūrō II in the Role of Soga Gorō from the Play "Yanone"
Torii Kiyonaga Japanese
Not on view
The Torii school dominated the production of prints of Kabuki actors in the eighteenth century. The fourth grandmaster of the Torii school, Kiyonaga, copied this image from a print by Torii Kiyonobu II (1706–1763). The poem at the top of the print was inscribed by Danjūrō V, a contemporary of Kiyonaga. As shown here, Danjūrō II (1688–1758) performs the role of Soga Gorō, a portrayal that made him a superstar as a swaggering aragoto actor. The print captures the dramatic moment when Soga Gorō, sharpening an arrow, has a vision of the danger that threatens his elder brother.
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