Bandō Minosuke II as Urabe no Suetake

The scene is from a play about the four heavenly kings Shitennō ubuyu no Tamagawa, which was staged for the first time at the Tamagawaza Theatre in 1818. It tells the story of the four muscular men of superhuman drive and courage from Japan’s history – Urabe no Suetake, Watanabe no Tsuna, Usui no Sadamitsu and Sakata no Kintoki – who experience many adventures together. There are several versions of the tale about the four heavenly kings Shitennō with the theme of supernatural forces. In this print, Bandō Minosuke II plays the character of Urabe no Suetake, who killed a demon named Shutendōji from Mount Ōeyama. (See Helena Honcoopová, Kunisada, Praha 2005, p. 128)