Utagawa Toyokuni I. Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Yushima no Sankichi / Fan print, 1819.

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [初代豊国] (Japanese, 1769–1825)
Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国画].
Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (c. 1776 – November 1862); Marks 02-041 | 156a
Date-Aratame Seal: hare/aratame (u; 卯/改) – 1819 – Bunsei 2
Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 221 x 253 mm
Genre: Yakusha-e, 役者絵);
Play: Ume Yanagi Wakaba no Kagazome (梅柳若葉加賀染)
Theater: Tamagawa-za (玉川座), Edo, May 1819

Actor: Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [七代目市川團十郎] (Japanese, 1791–1859); Other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V (五代目市川海老蔵), Ichikawa Hakuen II (二代目市川白猿), Ichikawa Shinnosuke I (初代市川新之助).

Role: Yushima no Sankichi (ゆしまの三吉)

Description: Bust-length, three-quarter-view portrait of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Yushima no Sankichi, in the play Ume Yanagi Wakaba no Kagazome, staged at Tamagawa-za in May 1819. The actor is depicted with his arms crossed over his chest, holding a pipe (kiseru, 煙管) in his right hand. The top half of the background features a giant golden carp (鯉, koi), a recurring motif in this series of prints, which alludes to Boys' Day (Tango no Sekku, 端午の節句), celebrated on May 5th each year. The series includes the portrait of Segawa Kikunojō V as Kurenaiya Okan [SVJP-0440.2025] and Iwai Hanshirō V as Asaho [SVJP-0523.2025] (see below). Handwritten Japanese text in cursive script (kuzushiji), written in black ink in vertical columns on the backing paper; content unidentified.