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

Kamo takes its name from the celebrated Kamo Shrines of Kyoto, the Kamigamo (Upper) and Shimogamo (Lower) Shrines that have stood since before the founding of the imperial capital. The Noh play of the same name, in the kami-mono (god-play) category, depicts the divine legends of the shrines' enshrined deity and includes a dance by the god of the Kamo waters. Tsukioka Kōgyo's print in Nōgaku Zue (Pictures of Noh Performances) shows the shite deity in the formal first-act costume of the kami-mono, with the shrine iconography rendered in the careful detail characteristic of the series. Published by Matsuki Heikichi circa 1898 and held by the Art Institute of Chicago, this Meiji-period color woodblock print belongs to Tsukioka Kōgyo's first systematic Noh-print series and exemplifies the documentary fidelity that would later distinguish Nōga Taikan and Nōgaku Hyaku-ban as the most comprehensive visual record of Noh ever produced.