The Actor Ichikawa Ebizo III as Akushichibyoe Kagekiyo Disguised as a Beggar in the Play Kamuri Kotoba Soga no Yukari, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the First Month, 1776

In this Katsukawa Shunsho hosoban, Ichikawa Ebizo III plays Akushichibyoe Kagekiyo disguised as a beggar in Kamuri Kotoba Soga no Yukari, staged at the Ichimura Theater in the first month of 1776. Kagekiyo, a Taira warrior associated with eye-related blinding incidents in legend, was a favorite aragoto role of the Ichikawa line; the conceit of a fierce warrior in beggar's rags allowed for one of kabuki's signature "yatsushi" (disguise) transformations, where the truth of the character is revealed through small slips in posture or speech. Shunsho catches Ebizo III in exactly such a moment, the patched outer garment hanging loose while the rooted stance betrays the warrior beneath. The Katsukawa school's reformed Edo ukiyo-e yakusha-e is fully in evidence: a recognizable face, a clear silhouette, restrained earth-tone color, and the workshop's confident calligraphic line. Held by the Art Institute of Chicago, the print would have been published within weeks of the opening to capitalize on the New Year audience and to advertise the season's casts at the three licensed Edo theaters. Beyond its commercial role, the sheet is now a primary source for the history of kabuki staging, since costume sketches and stage diagrams from the eighteenth century rarely survive. Shunsho's image preserves not only Ebizo III's likeness but the production design choices that defined a specific 1776 Ichimura Theater run, helping later scholars reconstruct what Edo audiences actually saw when they bought their tickets.