Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV, using the puppet technique Ningyō-buri, portraying Yaoya Oshichi, a girl, from the Kabuki play Shōchikubai Yuki no Akebono (Ichimura-za Theatre); Mitate Sanjūrokku Sen (the series Matches for Thirty-six Selected Poems) – Yaoya no Oshichi

Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1865; born in Edo) was a pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni I. In his later years, Toyokuni had developed a style characterized by sharply angular faces and figures with hunched backs and thick necks, and Kunisada pushed this manner even further, to the point that he came to be regarded as having completed the Utagawa style. In the late Edo period, when ukiyo-e subjects expanded to include landscapes and bird-and-flower images, Kunisada concentrated primarily on actor prints and bijinga (pictures of beauties), and was thus often viewed as an artist who upheld the mainstream traditions of ukiyo-e.

Around 1811 Kunisada began using the art name Gototei, derived from his family’s ferry business and its location, during which period he produced distinctive ōkubi-e (large-head portraits) of both actors and beauties that vividly captured contemporary Edo fashions. He later adopted the name Kōchōrō, showing his admiration for Hanabusa Itchō, before succeeding to the name Toyokuni II (although in fact he was the third Toyokuni, and is therefore usually referred to today as Toyokuni III).
Over the course of his career, he produced an estimated 10,000 works—the most prolific output of any ukiyo-e artist. While this enormous production included some formulaic designs and mannerisms, the wealth of works he created remains an invaluable resource for understanding kabuki plays and the customs of Edo society.

This print depicts Ichikawa Kodanji IV (1812–1866) in the celebrated ningyō-buri (puppet-style movement) scene from the play Shōchikubai Yuki no Akebono, performed at the Ichimura-za Theater in Edo in 1856. The later standard kabuki play Yagura no Oshichi, which continues to be performed today, derives from this production. Kodanji, a disciple of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII, rose to the position of troupe head (zatō) despite a turbulent early life. Orphaned of his father at a young age, he moved with his family from Iga Province (present-day Mie Prefecture) to Edo after his mother’s remarriage. He later worked as an apprentice at a fish wholesaler before entering the kabuki world following his mother’s disappearance. Although said to have lacked natural advantages in voice, stature, and appearance, he compensated through inventive stagecraft and direction, earning lasting admiration from audiences.
The ningyō-buri was a distinctive performance technique that evoked ningyō jōruri (puppet theater): the actor moved with stylized, puppet-like gestures while a kōken (stage assistant) manipulated him as if he were a puppet. This device was typically employed in moments of intense passion, when a character’s emotions spun out of control. Kodanji’s mastery of the ningyō-buri was particularly celebrated, and this print conveys the strong impression his performance left on contemporary audiences. It also serves as an important record of a dance technique that remains part of kabuki performance today.