Soshi-arai Komachi, from the series "Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue)"

Sōshi-arai Komachi (Komachi Washes the Manuscript) is one of the seven Komachi plays in the Noh repertoire, all centered on the legendary Heian poetess Ono no Komachi. In this play, the rival poet Ōtomo no Kuronushi attempts to discredit Komachi at a poetry competition by secretly copying her unwritten poem into an old Man'yōshū manuscript, then accusing her of plagiarism; Komachi defeats him by washing the sōshi (manuscript) in water, revealing the freshly added ink. Tsukioka Kōgyo's depiction in Nōgaku Zue (Pictures of Noh Performances) captures Komachi at the moment of the manuscript-washing — a striking visual subject that distinguishes this play from the more tragic Sotoba and Sekidera Komachi. Published by Matsuki Heikichi circa 1898 and held by the Art Institute of Chicago, this Meiji-era color woodblock print belongs to Tsukioka Kōgyo's first systematic Noh series, the foundation from which Nōga Taikan and Nōgaku Hyaku-ban would later grow.