The Actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu I as Hisamatsu

Sanogawa Ichimatsu I appeared in this role in the play The Eternal Soga of the Green Gate, which was presented at the Nakamura theater in February 1743. The brown-and-black checked pattern on Ichimatsu’s outercoat (haori) is a design he made fashionable, and it appears in many of his portraits. The contrast of the outer coat with the white kimono patterned with pink plum blossoms and seals is quite striking.