The Actor Bando Matakuro I

A single actor, shown kneeling with one leg tucked and one bare foot extended, gazes upward toward a small bird in flight at the upper left, right arm raised with fingers splayed. He wears a yellow kimono patterned with scrolling vine motifs under a brown outer robe decorated with black paw-print-like crests, its long sleeve looping in a wide curve beside him, and grips a long thin rod or branch in his other hand; a stylized tree trunk with green leaves rises behind him and scroll-like waves fill the lower border. The palette is limited to hand-applied orange-tan, yellow, and brown over black outlines on cream paper, with a cartouche of red text in the upper right corner. Torii Kiyonobu I, "The Actor Bando Matakuro I," 1695, hand-colored woodblock print (hosoban, tan-e).