Kunisada: Kabuki Actor with Robe Featuring a Heian Nobleman

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) Title: Actor with Robe featuring a Nobleman and Plovers Series: Eiyu  mitate junin otoko (Prosperous Actors of Kabuki as Ten Dandy Men) Date: Ca. 1848 Here we see an unnamed kabuki actor with a robe that features a Heian period nobleman watching as plovers fly overhead. The upper part of his kimono has a landscape with the torii gate of Hikawa Jinja (shrine) and hills beneath clusters of cherry blossoms. The bottom portion shows a scene of the Heian Period: in a small boat we see a nobleman with two attendants, one holding his sword. The actor’s under-kimono features stylized ducks. The viewers of the time would have known the story from this quick glimpse of the main character.  Regarding this series of ten actor portraits, the first word, eiyu, is a play on words, as it is normally written as 英雄, meaning “ hero“ (of a war). However here  eiyu  is written as 栄優, referring to “the most popular actors. The second word, mitate, means “comparison” and