This glass is inspired by Ukiyoe depicting Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro V, who plays Usui's Arataro Sadamitsu.

This is the face of Ebizo, the kabuki actor who plays the role of "Shibaraku".

It's a bold composition, with the face captured directly from the side.

Shibaraku is a famous kabuki drama that is often performed overseas as well.

(The English title is literally "Just A Moment")

Summary of the story

Kiyohara Takehira (a.k.a. "Uke"), a villain who is planning to ascend to the throne, captures a large number of good men and women, including Kamojiro Yoshitsuna (a.k.a. "Shibaraku"), who opposes him.

When Kiyohara Takehira is about to order his retainers, including Narita Goro (a.k.a. "the henchman of the villain"), to execute Kamojiro Yoshitsuna and others, Kamo Gongoro Kagemasa of Kamakura quickly appears and rescues them by shouting "Shibaraku.

The protagonist 'Shibaraku' is a boy with bangs who has the power to ward off evil spirits. His spiritual power has been expressed by Danjuro in the form of a glare, which has been passed down from generation to generation.

A glare is a wide-eyed glare and is considered one of the best ways to look at a person.

Nirami is a traditional performance that has been handed down from generation to generation only to the Ichikawa Danjuro family (Narita-ya), but nowadays, only Ebizo Ichikawa can perform it.

In the Edo period, it was even said that if Danjuro stared at you, you would be in good health for a year, and people would join hands with Danjuro to express their gratitude in front of his glaring eyes.

Nirami is not only used in kabuki scenes, but is also performed at the time of the succession of the Narita-ya name and during celebrations, and is said to be used to ward off evil spirits and bad luck.

In a world where coronas are rampant, the current Danjuro Ichikawa also glared at him to get rid of the bad luck.

I hope that with the benefit of a glare, the coronavirus will dissipate.

About the author, Utagawa Kunimasa

He was a craftsman in a dyer's shop, but his love of the theater led him to draw portraits of actors, and he became a student of the first Utagawa Toyokuni, who had an affair with the owner of the dyer's shop.

Although there are only about 120 extant works by Kunimasa, he opened up new possibilities by filling the screen with large, dynamic compositions of actor paintings.

He also produced fan paintings such as "Sawamura Sojuro III" and "White Clapper Sakuragi by Segawa Kikunosuke III, Dabutsubo by Sawamura Sojuro III, and Abutobo by Bando Hikosaburo III," which were much more popular than even Shi Toyokuni's works.

The scope of his work was narrower than that of his master Toyokuni, and the majority of his works were woodblock prints of actors, with very few pictures of beautiful women or illustrations.