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| Stockno.: | - | Artist: | Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞(1786 | Description: | A shikishiban surimono showing the actor Ichikawa Danjurō VII in the role of Usui no Sadamitsu
c. 1823
A role from the play Yama mata yama hana no yamagatsu. Sadamitsu was a man with great strength and worked for Minamoto no Yorimitsu (944-1021). With his allies (Watanabe no Tsuna, Urabe no Suetake and Sakata Kintoki) he slayed the monster boy of Mount Ōe. He appears in many Kabuki plays, his character calls for an aragoto (rough house) style. The poem is by Hōshitei Masunari:
Ōzora ni
Habakari wa nashi de
Misuji hiku
Kasumi otoko zo
Hitori me ni tatsu
Without a bit of fear
Toward the heavens above,
This bold man appears
Through three bands of haze
Standing on top of the world
Misuji (three stripes) refers to the pattern based on the Ichikawa crest, which Danjurō wore often or it may refer to the lines of his kumadori make-up.
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