Print Ukiyoe Kabuki Theater Japan

This print is made by Utagwa Kunisada in January 1852, a kbuki-e of a play called Koi karigame zome which was performed in Kawarazaki. This print is a quintych which is quite rare.

The play Koi goromo Karigane zone, written by the playwright Kawatake Mokuami (1816-1893), is based on the story of the Five Men of Naniwa, about five real-life outlaws who prayed on the people of Osaka at the turn of the 18th century and were eventually tried and executed in 1702.
So in this print, we can see the five main actors who star in this play: (from the far left to the far right of the work)
Ichikawa Danjuro VIII plays Gokuin
Onoe Shinshichi III plays tsuruki shusui
Ichikawa ebizo V plays Shokuro
Arashi Rikan III plays Yakko Yodohira
Iwai Kunesaburo III plays Karikane Bunshichi

The overall condition is quite good, but there is a slight pink discoloration on the characters.

Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞, 1786 – January 12, 1865) also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (三代歌川豊国) was one of the most popular ukiyoe painters of the 19th century and also one of the most prolific and financially successful, ahead of Kuniyoshi 国芳 and Hiroshige 広重. Utagawa Kunisada was born in Edo in 1786. His father, who died the following year, was an amateur poet of little repute. He was accepted around 1800 as an apprentice to one of the greatest masters of woodblock drawing, Toyokuni. He began by producing prints of actors, bijin-ga, sumo-e, landscapes and warriors. He also produced a large number of shunga (erotic prints). He is said to have produced over 20,000 prints. In 1844-1845, Kunisada Utagawa changed his artist name to the name of his teacher, Toyokuni, and thus became Toyokuni III. He died in Edo after training several students such as Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周) and Utagawa Kunisada II (歌川国定).