Japanese Print Description
Ichikawa Danjuro IX as Yamagami Gennaizaemon in play: Zohiki
Signed: Kunichika hitsu
Series: 100 Roles of Danjuro IX
Publisher: Fukuda Kumajiro
1898/3
Very good impression and colors. Album backing. Deluxe printing with metallic pigments, burnishing and gauffrage effects.
The strongman Yamanoue Gennaizaemon engages in a tug-of-war with a huge elephant controlled by the villainous Soga no Iruka. Using his magical powers Gennaizaemon manages to tame the elephant..
Considered one of the best aragato-style roles, Zohiki is one of the 18 best plays, the Kabuki Juhachiban. Performed less frequently than some of the other plays over the centuries, Danjuro XII, playing the lead role Mita no Genji Takeru, led a major revival in 2009, a few years before his death in 2012 based in part on the print by KUNICHIKA Zohiki.