Kunichika: Ichikawa Danjuro Meditating Before a Painting of Fudo Myo–o

Artist: Toyohara Kunichika Title: Ichikawa Danjuro Meditating Before a Painting of Fudo Myo–o Date: 1889 The kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro IX (1839-1903) meditating before an image of Fudo Myo-o, perhaps gaining inspiration for his stage role as Mongaku. Danjuro IX was born in Edo around 1840 as the fifth son of Ichikawa Danjuro VII, and eventually became one of the most famous actors in Japan, one of three stars who dominated the Kabuki world during the Meiji era.  Here we see Danjuro seated in repose, fan in hand and wearing a black jacket that bears his famous crest. To the right is a table screen with a scene of a waterfall, placed behind a painting of the Buddhist guardian deity Fudo Myo-o, with a peony flower in a vase placed as an offering. The peony flower is closely associated with the Ikchikawa Danjuro family. The scene of the waterfall would immediately bring to mind Danjuro’s role as Mongaku in the play “The Austerities of Mongaku”, where in the 1880s he played both the pen