Actors Nakamura Utaemon as Kumagai Jirō Naozane and Arashi Rikan as the maiden Kohagi, actually Atsumori

This print dated 1835 and held by the Victoria and Albert Museum depicts a kabuki performance with the actors Nakamura Utaemon in the role of Kumagai Jiro Naozane and Arashi Rikan in the role of the maiden Kohagi, who is in fact the disguised young warrior Atsumori. The drama draws on the medieval Tale of the Heike, specifically the famous encounter at the battle of Ichinotani in which the Genji general Kumagai is forced to kill the young Taira nobleman Atsumori in single combat. The episode was one of the most beloved subjects in kabuki and Noh theater, and the cross-dressing twist in which Atsumori appears disguised as a maiden adds a layer of pathos and theatrical complication that delighted Edo audiences. Yakusha-e (actor prints) were the commercial backbone of ukiyo-e, and Hokuju's foray into the genre shows him engaging with the kabuki market alongside his better-known landscape work. The double portrait, with the contrasting figures of the seasoned warrior and the disguised youth, exemplifies the way actor prints functioned as both celebrity portraits and theatrical mementos.