The Actors Onoe Matsusuke I as Yawata no Saburo (right), and Otani Tomoemon I as the Yakko Emohei (left), in the Play Myoto-giku Izu no Kisewata, Performed at the Ichimura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1770

This Katsukawa Shunsho print, dated to around 1767, depicts Onoe Matsusuke I as Yawata no Saburo on the right paired with Otani Tomoemon I as the manservant Emohei on the left, in the play Myoto-giku Izu no Kisewata at the Ichimura Theater. The yakko, or hereditary samurai retainer, was a stock kabuki role type associated with comic bluster and physical agility, while Yawata no Saburo represents a more serious warrior register. Shunsho stages the two actors in characteristic contrast, balancing the broader, more grounded posture of the yakko against the slimmer, more refined posture of his patron. Both figures bear the individualized facial features that defined Katsukawa school yakusha-e, allowing Edo ukiyo-e viewers to identify each performer at a glance. The Katsukawa school's dominance of Edo theatrical printmaking from the late 1760s through the 1780s made Shunsho's compositions definitive of mid-Edo kabuki imagery, and his training of pupils including Shunko and Shunei extended his methods well into the late eighteenth century. This impression is preserved at the Art Institute of Chicago. The print exemplifies how Shunsho organized two-actor encounters within the standard oban format, balancing distinct character types while preserving the legibility of each likeness. It contributes to the broader documentary record of Ichimura Theater productions and to scholars' understanding of how Edo kabuki structured its hierarchy of role types.