The Actor Ichikawa Danzō IV as Kunii Kurando

The faces in these prints were instantly recognizable to Kabuki fans in the 1770s. People collected their favorites, choosing between actors like Nakamura Tomijūrō, on the far right with his high eyebrows, and Ichikawa Danjūrō, at center with his prominent nose. The artist Katsukawa Shunshō innovatively rendered these figures with stylized but individual traits. Shunshō also included the crests of the actors on their costumes, which give us further clues about the portrayed figures. The three-layered squares on the figure in the center indicates that the actor is Ichikawa Danjūrō.