YOSHIIKU. Yakusha-e. Portrait of Bando Hikosaburo and Kawarazaki Gonjuro. Colored woodcut. 360x235 mm. Sign.: Yoshiiku ga, in red Toshidama Cartouche. Censorship: Aratame. Excellent impression, trimmed. Portrait of Bando Hikosaburo and Kawarazaki Gonjuro as two otokotade in front of the Sumida, both with the Shakuhashi flute of the wanderers. Otokodate is an archetype of kabuki more than anything else.It became popular to invent stories of retribution and justice where the hero was a rough and ready, yet brave and principled character who when witnessing samurai cruelty stepped in to defend the underdog. This class of popular hero became known as the Otokodate. The ideal Otokodate would have been originally from the samurai class, poor himself and yet uninterested in reward for its own sake.Yoshiiku, 1833-1904, was a popular ukiyo-e printmaker during the Meiji period. Yoshiiku was a student of Kuniyoshi and a contemporary rival of the famed Yoshitoshi. He signed his name Utagawa Yoshiiku, Ikkeisai Yoshiiku and Chokaro Yoshiiku. Beyond ukiyo-e, the woodblock printing process was used for newspaper illustrations before the introduction of photography. He worked as an illustrator for both the Tokyo Daily News and the Tokyo Illustrated News. Yoshiiku's prints can be found in the Brooklyn Museum, The Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.