The actors Bando Hikosaburo III as Fujitaro and Nakamura Noshio II as Imayo Utabikuni

This print, from Toyokuni’s series of seven double actor portraits, depicts characters from Saru nitemo Fuji no utsushie, a play performed in the ninth month of 1796 at the Miyako Theater. The samurai who holds aloft a wood and paper lantern is Bandō Hikosaburō III in the role of Fujitarō, and his companion is Nakamura Noshio II, playing Imayō Utabikuni, in reality the bodhisattva Samantabhadra. The lantern and Noshio’s sedge hat suggest they are travelling by night, so the scene may represent a michiyuki—the dance interlude used to depict the journey of a romantically linked couple. Toyokuni captures the moment’s drama by showing the couple leaning close together, juxtaposing Hikosaburō’s massive form and intense expression with Noshio’s sweet face and feminine pose. The colors in this impression are exceptionally well preserved.