Kamabara (Kyogen), from the series "Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue)"

Kamabara (Kyogen), from the series "Pictures of Nō Performances (Nōgaku Zue)" by Tsukioka Kōgyo, 1893, color woodblock print. Three Kyōgen figures are set against a plain cream ground: at left a performer in a patterned orange-red robe raises a long pole with cloth or paper strips tied near its tip, beside a bald-headed figure in a green robe scattered with small round floral motifs and a blue-and-white checked outer wrap who grips the pole shaft; at right a third figure in a brown robe with yellow footwear stands with arms outstretched, seen from behind. The palette is restrained—soft orange, green, blue, and brown against unpainted paper—with thin black outlines defining the robes' folds and patterns, and the composition is framed by a plain rectangular border with title cartouche above and vertical text and a red seal along the right and left margins.