Onna Shibaraku

'Onna Shibaraku' is the female counterpart to the kabuki play 'Shibaraku,' which belongs to the eighteen plays (juhachiban) codified by the Ichikawa Danjuro lineage. In this variant, a female warrior takes the place of the conventional male hero, intervening at a moment of crisis with the cry 'Shibaraku!' ('Wait a moment!'). The print likely shows the heroine in heavy kumadori makeup, an elaborate red-and-white striped costume, and the oversized sword characteristic of the role. Bold outline work and saturated reds are typical conventions for representing this theatrical subject, with the figure posed in a powerful mie. Within Takahashi Hiromitsu's apparent focus on kabuki subjects, the print continues a long tradition of yakusha-e extending from Sharaku and Toyokuni into the shin-hanga period. The mokuhanga technique allows the densely registered colors and crisp keyblock outlines that the genre requires.