Oiso no Tora and Shosho Playing Instruments

Printed as a hosoban color woodblock and dated 1746 in the Art Institute of Chicago records, this print by Shigenaga depicts Oiso no Tora and Shosho, the legendary courtesans associated with the Soga brothers' revenge tale, playing musical instruments together. The Soga brothers narrative, in which the brothers Soga no Juro Sukenari and Soga no Goro Tokimune avenged their father's murder, was one of the most enduring subjects of Japanese kabuki and dance, and the brothers' lovers Oiso no Tora and Shosho appeared regularly in dramatic productions and prints. Shigenaga's version sets the two women in a domestic musical scene rather than at a dramatic moment, a choice that situates the subject within the bijin-ga tradition while preserving its kabuki associations. The hosoban format and the printed color (a benizuri-e palette) mark the work as part of Shigenaga's mature production. The Chicago impression preserves the printed color in good state and documents one of the artist's late and dramatically anchored bijin-ga, a class of work that bridges his kabuki and his bijin output.