Toramaru of the Toraya

This rare print comes from a series with a novel theme: geisha impersonating famous Kabuki actors. The player is identified in the square cartouche at upper left as “Toraya” and “Toramaru,” both pseudonyms associated with Arashi Ryūzō II (the first is a guild name, or yago, the second a poetic name, or haigo). Ryūzō II, who died in the eleventh month of 1798, specialized in villain roles. The geisha who entertains an unseen client with her impression plays the role with panache. Pushing up one sleeve, she thrusts her left arm down with fingers splayed, in a gesture that would have been familiar to Ryūzō’s many fans. Toyokuni’s own Actors on the Stage series depicts Ryūzō as Ukiyo Matabei with one out-thrust arm, as do Sharaku’s portraits of him as Matabei, and as another character, Otomo Sukune. A well-known okubi-e portrait by Sharaku shows Ryūzō with the same signature gesture, roughly pushing up one sleeve in the role of the moneylender Ishibe Kinkichi.
In Toyokuni’s playful rendering, the geisha’s face mimics Arashi’s characteristic features, and her hairpin and comb bear a version of his crest. Her performance is accompanied by a seated geisha playing a tsutsumi drum. The pale gray background and standing lamp suggest a nighttime scene in which she performs before a private audience.