Matsumoto Kô shirô VII as Benkei in the play Kanjinchô

Kanjinchô (The Subscription List) belongs to the Kabuki Jûhachiban and adapts the noh play Ataka into kabuki's matsubame-mono format, in which the action plays out before a painted pine backdrop. The drama centers on Benkei, the warrior-monk who saves his fugitive master Yoshitsune by improvising the reading of a fake subscription scroll at the Ataka barrier. The role demands physical stature, vocal command, and mastery of the closing Roppô — the bounding diagonal exit pattern that ends the play. Matsumoto Kôshirô VII (1870-1949) was identified with Benkei across decades, and the role defined his career to the point that publicity images often substituted his Benkei for his face. Ota's print likely shows Kôshirô in the yamabushi priest's hood and traveling robes, either holding the scroll or fixed in the standoff with the barrier guard Togashi. Mokuhanga renders the costume's pattern density and the calligraphic character of the scroll. Within Ota's catalogue this print joins a group documenting Kôshirô's signature roles.