Ichikawa Ebizō V as Senso Dōjin (right); Jitsukawa Ensaburō as Jiraiya (left) 1854

This diptych woodblock print by Hasegawa Sadanobu depicts Ichikawa Ebizō V as Senso Dōjin and Jitsukawa Ensaburō as Jiraiya. Here, Ebizō’s fierce expression and Jiraiya’s determined stance are not merely character portrayals but embodiments of archetypes. Their grimaces remind us of the masks of Greek tragedy, amplified with intense emotion, and the gestures they perform are no less intense. Note the tattoos adorning Senso Dōjin's body, a motif echoing the ancient practice of tattooing as a rite of passage, seen in various cultures from the Maori to the Celts. These, like the painted faces of Kabuki actors, act as a mask, simultaneously revealing and concealing the individual, tapping into a primal, subconscious understanding. The image taps into a collective memory, echoing through time in various forms, revealing a narrative that is eternally relevant, continually resurfacing in our cultural consciousness.