Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳

In response to a prohibition by the shogunate against lavish prints of popular actors, Kuniyoshi depicted caricatures of his favorite celebrities scratched on the plaster wall of a storehouse, using the language of graffiti to defy the authorities. His name and the crest of his publisher are written in the gray section at the bottom of the print. Small sketches between the caricatures, such as the pagoda and elephant, allude to specific actors’ names, adding to this work’s playfulness and wit.

Kuniyoshi has very cleverly caricatured seven actors in these "scribblings." Moving from the center clockwise, the performers may be tentatively identified as follows: Azuma Tozo (?); Bando Hikosaburo; Ichikawa Shinsha (?); Bando Mitsugoro IV as Shunkan (?); unidentified actor; Mimasa Daigoro (?); and Otani Tomoemon III.