Actors Asao Kuzaemon as Aogaishi Rokurōdayū and Nakamura Matsue III as his daughter Kozue

This 1821 yakusha-e by Shunkosai Hokushu, held by the Victoria and Albert Museum (accession O420031), depicts the actors Asao Kuzaemon as Aogaishi Rokurodayu and Nakamura Matsue III as his daughter Kozue. The father-daughter pairing reflects the type of domestic and quasi-historical drama that filled Osaka kabuki bills in the 1820s, and Hokushu's portrait shows both actors in costume, each clearly identified by inscription. Matsue III, later renamed Nakamura Tomijuro II, was a leading onnagata of the Osaka stage and a frequent subject in Hokushu's work. The composition shows the side-by-side pairing format typical of Osaka kamigata-e diptychs and double portraits: rather than narrative interaction between the two figures, he presents them as parallel character studies, each occupying his or her share of the visual field and each rendered with the careful attention to facial expression that defines Osaka yakusha-e. The print is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum (accession O420031), part of an extended series of 1821 Osaka kamigata-e yakusha-e documenting that year's productions in the city's two principal theaters. Asao Kuzaemon and Matsue III were both Osaka-based actors, and the role pair of Aogaishi Rokurodayu and his daughter Kozue belongs to a category of father-daughter relationships that the Osaka stage handled with particular emotional intensity. Hokushu's composition demonstrates the documentary precision typical of his yakusha-e work: each actor is clearly identified, the costume is rendered with attention to specific role indicators, and the play context is anchored by the inscription.