An actor of the Ichikawa Danjūrō line in 'Pulling the elephant', confronting his opponent as they struggle over an elephant. Colour woodcut by Kunisada I, 1852.

Whole-length figures

Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII codified the eighteen plays his line of actors had made their own. The roles were characterised by bombast, extravagant action with much 'rough stuff'. In 1852, Kunisada designed a set of eighteen prints illustrating these roles, and depicted the actors, both living and dead, who bore the Danjūrrō VII acting name

Edo [Tokyo] : [publisher not identified], Month 3, 1852.

1 print : woodcut, printed in colours

Kōchō Toyokui-ga Bears publisher's mark, censor's seal, actor's role and set title

Number two from a series of eighteen famous plays

Wellcome Collection 36030i