Half-length portrait of a woman facing slightly to the right. She wears a patterned kimono with multiple floral and seasonal motifs, including uchiwa (round fans), plum blossoms, maple leaves, chrysanthemums, snow-covered bamboo, pine branches, and peonies. Her obi is tied in front, and a red collar is visible beneath the layers. Her hair is arranged in an elaborate updo and is adorned with a hairpin featuring a rabbit and a crescent moon, referencing lunar symbolism. She dedicates a hand towel at a washing trough (手水舎, temizuya) in a shrine.

In the background, several towels are hanging, featuring various mon (family crests), symbols, and inscriptions:

• Three oak leaves – Shinto priesthood kamon
• Crossed or intersecting hawk feathers – family crest of Asano Naganori (浅野 長矩, 1667 – 1701)
• Kiri-mon (Paulownia crest, associated with Kuniyoshi)
• Toshidama (seal of the Utagawa school)
• Masu (枡, measuring box) motif – a square with diagonal lines
• Kanōya Fukuna (叶屋 福那) – probably a restaurant.

1. Kuniyoshi Project
2. [LIB-3428.2025] Christie’s, New York: Japanese Prints, Paintings, and Screens, Monday, 24 November 1997 / Sales Catalogue, № 130, p. 63.

The exiled nobleman Ariwara no Yukihira (在原行平) stayed in Suma and fell in love with them. After his departure, the sisters mourned his absence, with Matsukaze in particular losing herself in longing and madness. The pine tree (松, matsu) symbolizes her unfulfilled love, as matsu also means "to wait" in Japanese.

"Ukiyozuka Hiyoku no Inazuma" is a kabuki play in nine acts, written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV. It premiered in Bunsei 6 (1823) at the Ichimura-za theatre in Edo.

The play includes two particularly famous scenes:

• "Suzugamori no ba" (The Scene at Suzugamori), which portrays the episode of Banzuiin Chōbei and Shirai Gonpachi
• "Yoshiwara Nakanochō no ba" (The Scene at Yoshiwara Nakanochō), which depicts the story of Nagoya Sanza and Fuwa Banzaemon

These scenes have been frequently performed under the well-known titles "Gozonji Suzugamori" (A Well-Known Suzugamori) and "Sayaate" (The Scabbard Clash).

Actor: Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [七代目市川團十郎] (Japanese, 1791–1859); Other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V (五代目市川海老蔵), Ichikawa Hakuen II (二代目市川白猿), Ichikawa Shinnosuke I (初代市川新之助).

The scene depicts a moment from the play Ume sakura aioi zōshi (梅桜松双紙), with Chiyo, Matsubei, and Umeroku confronting an unseen opponent. The three figures are positioned against a backdrop of rushing water and a large waterwheel, indicating a setting near a river. Chiyo, at the front, wears a brown kimono with pine needle motifs, a black obi, and red underlayers visible at the sleeves and hem. Her hair is arranged formally, and her arms are extended forward. Matsubei and Umeroku, standing behind her, wear checkered (plaid) kimonos in brown and beige tones with black borders, tied with wide yellow sashes. Matsubei wears a haori (羽織). Both men hold long wooden oars crossed in an X-shape.

Toyokuni depicts the same actors in the same performance in a series of ōban-size prints (images from Waseda University Cultural Resources Database)

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [初代豊国] (Japanese, 1769–1825)

Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国画]

Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小嶋屋重兵衛] (Japanese, c. 1797–1869); seal [十]; Marks 06-014 | 264a

Date-Aratame Seal: 1822 (Bunsei 5, 文政五年)

Media: Print (Uchiwa-e, うちわ絵, fan print); 223 × 250 mm

Actor: Onoe Kikugorō III [三代目 尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1784–1849); other names: Onoe Baikō III (尾上梅幸), Ōkawa Hashizō I (大川橋蔵初代), Onoe Matsusuke II (二代目尾上松助), Onoe Eizaburō I (初代尾上栄三郎)

Half-length, three-quarter-view portrait of Onoe Kikugorō III, depicted without stage makeup. The actor wears a kimono patterned with plum blossoms (梅, ume), symbolising perseverance and longevity. A neck scarf with a 格子 (kōshi) pattern is visible, and he holds a folding fan (扇, ōgi) decorated with chrysanthemums (菊, kiku).

Above his head is the Onoe family crest (mon), embracing oak leaves on layered fans. This emblem, known as the crest of the Otowaya line, commemorates a shogunal gift of rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves, placed on a fan, and presented to Onoe Kikugorō I.

The background features a radiating red-line pattern, possibly representing the bamboo structure of an uchiwa fan. The absence of kumadori (歌舞伎隈取, kabuki makeup) suggests that the actor is not portrayed in a specific role.

In 1822, Onoe Kikugorō III performed at Kawarazaki-za before month 11 and at Ichimura-za and Nakamura-za afterwards.

The print has been backed for preservation with a sheet of paper featuring calligraphy, likely contemporary to the print itself. The backing paper appears to have been repurposed, a common historical practice in the Edo period, where discarded documents or manuscripts were reused to reinforce delicate prints.

Kunisada portrayed the same actor in 1815 as Rokusaburō, the Carpenter (Daiku Rokusaburō).

Sebastian Izzard Asian Art