Toyohara Kunichika

This triptych features actors portraying four characters from the kabuki play Hashi Kuyō Bonji no Mongaku (The Austerities of Mongaku). At the center is the renowned actor Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838–1903), who plays both the wrathful deity Fudō Myō-ō and the penitent monk Mongaku. After unintentionally killing his cousin and lover, Kesa Gozen, at the age of 19, Mongaku becomes an ascetic wanderer. In his search for atonement, he meditates beneath the icy waters of the Nachi Falls, holding a Buddhist bell. After 21 days of this extreme practice, the deity Fudō Myō-ō appears to end his suffering. Known for his fierce compassion, Fudō carries a sword to cut through ignorance and a rope to pull evildoers toward righteousness. Moved by Mongaku’s devotion, Fudō aids him in his path to redemption.

Flanking Fudō Myō-ō in the triptych are his two attendants. On the right is actor Nakamura Shikan IV (1831–1899) as Kongara, and on the left, Suketakaya Kosuke IV (also known as Suketakaya Takasuke IV, 1838–1886) as Seitaka. This divine trio is frequently portrayed together in religious and theatrical imagery.

The Danjūrō lineage has long held a deep reverence for Fudō Myō-ō, stemming from an early ancestor's prayer to the deity for a child, which was fulfilled. As a result, their yagō (stage family name) is “Naritaya,” and they continue to perform misogi—a ritual purification linked to Fudō—at the waterfall at Shinshōji Temple.