from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)

A mid-sequence sheet from the Kyôsai hyakuzu, this woodblock print occupies a position in the series where Kyosai's range of subjects is fully established. The twenty-third sheet may present a genre figure, a theatrical subject, or a supernatural being — all categories that appear with regularity in the series' first third. Kyosai's theatrical subjects draw on kabuki visual conventions: bold mie poses, exaggerated kumadori-inflected expression, and the vivid palette of stage costume. If the subject is drawn from genre rather than theater, the composition might show a craftsman, a street figure, or a domestic interior observed with the sociological particularity that runs through Kyosai's non-supernatural work. The key block line and color registration in sheets of this number tend to be well-preserved in extant impressions, reflecting the care taken with the printing of early sheets before block wear accumulated. The print functions as one component of the serial argument Kyosai constructs across all one hundred images.