Teishu modoranukan kandoko shibire atamabuchi — 亭主もどらぬかん かんどこ しびれ あたまぶち

This print belongs to Kiyochika's output in the kyoga (comic print) genre, a vein of humorous woodblock work he pursued alongside his more celebrated landscape and war print series. The title refers to a husband who fails to return home, ending up numbed and ridiculous in a cheap lodging house—a scenario drawn from the comic literature and rakugo storytelling traditions popular in Meiji Tokyo. Kiyochika brings to the subject his characteristic draftsmanship, deploying exaggerated posture and expression to convey the satirical scene. His comic prints frequently engage with social behaviors associated with the transitional Meiji period: the tension between household duty and the freedoms of the city, the indulgences of the male leisure culture, and the minor domestic dramas of urban life. The composition is likely executed in a looser, more economical style than his kosen-ga landscapes.