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

Kogasa is a Meiji woodblock print by Tsukioka Kogyo, designed in 1893 for the series Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue) and held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The print depicts a moment from the noh repertoire, with the central figure in stage costume positioned against the spare ground that characterizes Kogyo's noh-e. The small hat or kogasa of the title functions as both prop and visual anchor, articulated with the precision that the play's iconography demands. Kogyo trained under Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Ogata Gekko, and Kogasa shows the lineage in its measured composition, finely registered line, and disciplined color choices. As a member of the Nogaku Zue series, the print belongs to the project that effectively defined noh-e as a Meiji woodblock genre, treating the noh repertoire as a sustained subject for woodblock printmaking rather than a single-off curiosity. Each sheet pairs accurate documentation of mask, robe, and posture with the technical refinement of the best Tokyo print workshops of the period. The Art Institute of Chicago documents the impression at https://www.artic.edu/artworks/155383, situating it within an important museum holding of Kogyo's noh prints. For collectors, Kogasa offers a clean example of how Tsukioka Kogyo could turn a small prop into the organizing element of a noh-e composition, demonstrating his instinct for the iconographic detail that experienced viewers would expect to see emphasized.