The Actor Bandō Kikumatsu II as a Pony Dancer

With chrysanthemum flowers forming a background, a boy is dancing with a toy pony, with other toys scattered on the ground near him. The dance is probably a harukoma 春駒, or spring colt dance, that imitates the movements of a horse.

This print depicts the kabuki actor Bandō Kikumatsu (1741–68), who debuted as a child during the eleventh month of 1749 in the play Yoritomo gunbai kagami performed at the Ichimuraza theater. Kikumatsu’s costume is decorated with a pattern of auspicious good-luck symbols and the Bandō family’s circular actor’s crest featuring a flying crane. He also wears a long outer haori garment with an arabesque floral pattern.