Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Actors Ichikawa Ichizō III as Inga Kozō Rokunosuke, Onoe Kikujirō II as Kashiku Osono, and Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Inga Kobei / Fan print, 5/1861.

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川国貞] (Japanese, 1786–1865), also known as Toyokuni III [三代目歌川豊国]
Signed: 豊国画 (Toyokuni ga)
Carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845–1863), seal 彫竹 (Hori Take)
Publisher: Unidentified; possibly Sagamiya Kyūzō [相模屋久蔵] (Japanese, active mid-19th century)
Date: 5th month, 1861 (Bunkyū 1)
Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and colour on paper; uchiwa-e (fan print); 235 x 300 mm

Description:
Half-length actors in roles; interior setting with a green-to-red gradient background and a folding screen decorated with bamboo, peonies, and maple leaves. At upper right is a printed poster announcing a sumō match between Iwakawa (岩川) and Tetsugatake (鉄ヶ嶽). These names refer to real sumō wrestlers — Iwakawa Jirōkichi (岩川治郎吉) and Tetsugatake Dataemon (鉄ヶ嶽陀右衛門 / 鉄ヶ嶽陀太左衛門) — who were also frequently depicted as characters in kabuki plays, including Sekitori senryō nobori (1859) and Haruzu môhi iki no koa bure (1839). Their inclusion here likely alludes to the theatrical world rather than an actual match. A green basket behind the central figure contains upright wooden planks, each marked 大の (Ōno); these may represent supporter placards connected to the fictive sumō bout.

From left:

• Ichikawa Ichizō III [市川市蔵] (Japanese, 1833–1865); other names: Onoe Ichizō, Ichikawa Chōshō; Poetry name: Chōshō; guild Harimaya

– Role: Inga Kozō Rokunosuke [因果小僧六之助], wearing a blue-and-black kōshi (格子, lattice) robe and a dotted towel.

• Onoe Kikujirō II [尾上菊次郎] (Japanese, 1814–1875); other names: Onoe Baika, Nakamura Sankō II, Nakamura Karyū I, Kataoka Ichimatsu; Poetry name: Baika; Guild: Nidaime

– Role: Kashiku Osono [かしくおその], holding a small sake cup and leaning toward Rokunosuke.

• Ichikawa Kodanji IV [市川小団次] (Japanese, 1812–1866); other names: Ichikawa Yonejūrō I, Ichikawa Yonezō III, Ichikawa Eizō

– Role: Inga Kobei [因果小兵衛], displaying a tattoo of a skull with grass sprouting through its eye sockets on his right shoulder.

Play: Ryō to mimasu takane no kumokiri (竜三升高根雲霧)
Theatre: Morita-za [森田座], Edo
Date of performance: 5th month, 1861 (Bunkyū 1)

Reference: MFA Boston impression for the same role: https://collections.mfa.org/objects/215020

Condition: Visible wormage; misalignment in colour blocks indicates poor registration; likely a later edition impression.