The Actor Onoe Matsusuke I as Oiso no Tora (?) (right), and Otani Taniji (left)

This sheet by Ippitsusai Buncho, held in the Art Institute of Chicago, pairs two Edo kabuki actors in a single composition: Onoe Matsusuke I, identified on the right as the courtesan Oiso no Tora, and Otani Taniji on the left. The figure of Oiso no Tora is closely associated with the Soga revenge cycle, one of the most enduring plot complexes in Edo kabuki, in which she appears as the lover of the elder Soga brother. Buncho was active in Edo ukiyo-e during the late 1760s and early 1770s, and his yakusha-e or kabuki actor prints are among the central documents of the Edo stage of that period. The print uses the hosoban format that Buncho favored for single and paired actor portraits, with the two performers arranged vertically on the tall, narrow sheet so that costume patterns, hand gestures, and facial features all read clearly. Onoe Matsusuke I was one of the leading onnagata, or male specialists in female roles, of his generation, and Buncho's image of him as Oiso no Tora reflects the careful attention to individual likeness that distinguishes his work from earlier, more generic actor prints. The Art Institute of Chicago catalogues the work as part of its substantial holdings of Edo-period actor prints by Buncho and his contemporaries, offering modern viewers a window onto the visual culture surrounding Edo's three licensed kabuki theaters.