Actor Nakamura Utaemon III as both Yamauba and Kaidōmaru

This circa 1823 Osaka kamigata-e yakusha-e by Nansenrō Shibakuni, held by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, depicts the great Osaka actor Nakamura Utaemon III (haimyō: Shikan) in a dual role as Yamauba and her son Kaidōmaru. The Yamauba role, an aged mountain witch of Japanese folklore associated with the upbringing of the legendary warrior Sakata Kintoki (childhood name Kaidōmaru), was a celebrated onnagata vehicle within the kabuki repertoire, and the dual-role conceit of having a single actor play both mother and son drew on the kabuki tradition of hayagawari (quick-change) virtuosity. Utaemon III, who ranged across warrior roles, outlaw parts like Ishikawa Goemon, merchant characters, and signature onnagata vehicles like Osono, brought to the Yamauba-Kaidōmaru part the same intense character study that the Osaka stage demanded across his enormous range. Shibakuni's composition captures both characters in a single image, with the inscription identifying the dual role and the production. The print is rendered as a color woodblock print (nishiki-e) in ink and color on paper and exemplifies the mature kamigata-e dual-role yakusha-e format that Osaka designers used to commemorate virtuoso performances. The work is part of the Boston MFA's Osaka kamigata-e holdings, much of it acquired through the William Sturgis Bigelow Collection in 1911, and constitutes a documentary record of one of Utaemon III's lesser-known but technically demanding Bunsei-era stage interpretations.