Third Act

Two samurai figures confront each other on a green floor beneath a striped bamboo blind and a gold cloud-and-wave-patterned wall panel with red vertical borders; a townscape with a pagoda-roofed building is visible through a window at left. The kneeling figure at left wears a pale blue kimono with a crest medallion and grips a dagger in its scabbard, while the reclining figure at right, in a dark robe patterned with gold scrollwork and white floral crests, grasps the same dagger's hilt, pulling it toward himself. This woodblock print (nishiki-e, ink and color on paper), titled "Third Act" by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and dated 1860, uses a palette dominated by teal green, sky blue, gold, and red.