Edo's Street Champion: Kunisada's "Honchō Tsunagorō" from The Five Chivalrous Men of Great Edo

大江戸五人男達之内 — 本町綱五郎

Ōedo Gonin Otokodateno Uchi – Honchō Tsunagorō

By Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III; 三代歌川豊国), published by Maruya Seijirō (丸清), c. 1844 (Kōka 1). ⚔️

Edo's Street Champions

The otokodate (男達) were Edo's people's heroes — chivalrous commoners who stood up to the powerful and protected the weak. This print is from Kunisada's series Ōedo Gonin Otokodateno Uchi (大江戸五人男達之内), depicting the five most celebrated otokodate legends through the faces of the era's most beloved kabuki actors — where street myth and theatre become one. ⛩️

Tsunagorō: Power, Swagger, and Style

Arms folded, eyes fixed in a sharp glare — Tsunagorō's stance radiates the effortless authority of a true Edo street champion. His kimono is a masterwork of graphic design: bold wave and scale patterns in deep black, layered over vivid red and purple hakama. The sword at his back, depicted with extraordinary precision, is both weapon and statement. 🌊

About the Artist

Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), also known as Toyokuni III (三代歌川豊国), was one of the most commercially successful ukiyo-e artists of the 19th century and a master of yakusha-e (actor portraits). 🌸

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