Oba-ga-zaki (Kyôgen), from the series "Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue)"

Oba-ga-zaki, a Kyogen, is a Meiji woodblock print by Tsukioka Kogyo, published in 1893 in Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue). Kyogen are the comic plays performed between the solemn noh dramas, and they pair short narratives with broad physical humor on the same bare cedar stage. Kogyo, a pupil of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Ogata Gekko, treats kyogen with the same disciplined observation he brings to noh proper, faithfully recording the simpler kataginu vest and hakama trousers worn by kyogen actors. The composition follows the noh-e convention of a low ground line and minimal background, isolating the figure so that gesture, expression and costume read with absolute clarity. The keyblock outline holds the actor's posture firmly, while bokashi gradations and overprinted patterns introduce lively detail without overwhelming the silhouette. The palette is warm and slightly cheerful in keeping with the lighter spirit of kyogen - mustard ochres, warm browns and small accents of indigo or vermilion. Pictures of No Performances, issued by Matsuki Heikichi, included numerous kyogen subjects alongside major noh plays, reflecting the integrated structure of a full noh program. Kogyo drew on his unusual access to the Meiji noh revival at the Hosho and Kanze schools to record performance practice with documentary precision. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this print as part of its broader Kogyo collection, where it stands as an authoritative example of noh-e and of late nineteenth-century Meiji woodblock printing. Source: Art Institute of Chicago (https://www.artic.edu/artworks/154934).