Page from Hagoromo (Feathered Robe), Shôwa period, circa 1984-1986

Page nine of Matsubara's Hagoromo sequence falls within the series' depiction of the tenmai, the heavenly dance performed by the robed celestial maiden as she prepares to ascend. By this point in the Noh drama, the choreography has moved from tentative motion to full expression, and this page may show the dancer at the height of her performance — arms extended, trailing drapery in motion, the feathered robe made visible as flowing graphic form. Matsubara's characteristic bold carving would render the fabric's movement through sweeping lines that follow the grain of the block, while bokashi gradation in the background suggests the shifting quality of light at the shore. The page continues the integration of image and text found throughout the artist's book, placing the visual rendering of the dance against selected passages from the play's libretto. The work reflects Matsubara's fluency with both Noh tradition and the expressive potential of the sosaku-hanga medium.