Taema, from the series "One Hundred No Dramas (Nogaku hyakuban)"

Taema, from the 1893 'One Hundred No Dramas (Nogaku hyakuban),' depicts a scene from the noh play centered on Princess Chujo and the miraculous Taima mandala. The play belongs to the third-category female-spirit plays and is performed with particular reverence by all the major schools for its themes of Buddhist devotion and the achievement of salvation. Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927) recorded the play with the documentary precision that defined his noh-e Meiji woodblock practice, isolating the figure against an open ground so that costume, mask, and posture carry the play's spiritual weight. The artist had trained under Ogata Gekko and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi before specializing in theatrical subjects, and his sustained observation of actual performances at the Hosho, Kanze, and Komparu schools gave his prints documentary authority. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this impression and preserves many sheets from the series. The disciplined economy of design typical of Kogyo's noh-e is evident in Taema: a restrained palette, precise outline, and careful registration combine to produce an image whose stillness echoes the play's contemplative pace. For collectors interested in Buddhist subjects on the noh stage, Taema sits alongside plays like Tsurikitsune, Sotoba Komachi, and Nonomiya as part of a substantial group of devotional dramas, and Kogyo's treatment supplies a reliable visual record of its staging.