Masaji no Tsuki: Two Kabuki Legends Under a Full Moon, by Toyohara Kunichika | 真砂路の月

Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周) made his name drawing the great stars of the Meiji kabuki stage, and this large-format triptych, Masaji no Tsuki, made in September 1872, captures two of them in a single dramatic moment: the play Kinoshitakage Hazama Gassen at the Ichimura Theater in Tokyo.

At the center, Ichikawa Danjuro IX, who would be celebrated as the greatest kabuki actor of his age, strikes a magnificent pose. He wears a shaggy black fur hat, or wig, of striking silhouette and a gorgeous costume embroidered with dragons, brandishing a long weapon with the full force of a mie. At the right, Ichikawa Sadanji I, sleek and severe in dark, elegant robes, returns his gaze with piercing intensity, the two stars locked in the tension of the scene.

Above them the night is quiet: a full moon glows over a calm sky, two swallows cross the silver water, and a waka poem set into the clouds lends the print its mood of stillness and suspense. The labels in the black cartouches at the upper right identify each role and actor, in the fashion of the great Meiji actor prints.

Kunichika is remembered above all as the artist who drew the Dan-Kiku-Sa, the three towering figures of the Meiji kabuki: Danjuro, Kikugoro, and Sadanji. Here, two of them meet under the moon, in a design that shows his sharp colors and fierce actor likenesses at their very best.