6 Utagawa Kunisada 1786 – 1865 Shirai Gonpachi – The Dashing Swordsman and Seducer

from the series Dai Edo gonin otokotachi no uchi (Five True Men of Great Edo)
censor seal: Yoshimura (1843–1846)
publisher: Maru-Kiyo, Edo (Shiba, Shinmei-mae)

An elegant young man holding two swords and a bamboo flute (shakuhachi), dressed in a striking black kimono decorated with the family crest I (“well”). The figure represents Shirai Gonpachi — the legendary swordsman and lover whose tragic romance with the courtesan Komurasaki inspired numerous kabuki plays from the 1820s onward. Kunisada’s portrayal embodies the ideal of the date-otoko — the “true man,” both gallant, heroic, and fashionably refined. The artist revisited the same theme in 1848, producing a more colorful and dramatic version of this composition.