Ichikawa Danjuro as Sagami Goro (市川團十郎 相模五郎)

A Climatic scene in Water Margin (水滸傳), a Chinese novel with significant influence on the development of fiction and kabuki in Japan, sees Ichikawa Danjuro VII’s Sagami Goro on the losing side of a pivotal river battle. This shows how Water Margin has been adapted to a Japanese context by incorporating aspects of Heike Monogatari (平家物語), a key historical epic poem. Danjuro VII was known for a domineering masculine presence, so to see that juxtaposed with not only being on the losing side of the battle but also with a depiction that sees his face and body contorted allows us to consider masculinity’s relationship to the body.