Ichimura Uzaemon XV in the role of fireman Megumi Tatsugorô

Megumi no Kenka (The Fight of Megumi) dramatizes a real 1805 brawl between the Megumi fire brigade of Edo and a group of sumo wrestlers, drawing on the period's chronicle literature and surviving brigade records. Tatsugorô is the leader of the Megumi men, and the role centers on the standoff and the costuming of the brigade itself. Ichimura Uzaemon XV (1874-1945) was a Tokyo actor associated with nimaime (handsome romantic) roles, his slim build and refined features adapted here to the bravura of a fireman's posture. Ota's print likely shows Uzaemon in the moment before the fight, holding or near the matoi standard, in the sashiko-stitched coat and patterned headband that identify the brigade. The composition relies on careful registration of the geometric textile patterns and the standard's distinctive paper streamers. Within Ota's wider catalogue, this sewamono subject — a domestic Edo-period drama — contrasts with the courtly jidaimono works elsewhere, showing his engagement with kabuki's full generic range from history play to street fight.