Kiyomizu mode no Kagekiyo, Moyo no azami (Kagekiyo on a Kiyomizu Pilgrimage, Thistle) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))

Kiyomizu mode no Kagekiyo, Moyo no azami (Kagekiyo on a Kiyomizu Pilgrimage, Thistle) is a yakusha-e from Utagawa Kunisada's Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers / Immortals of Poetry), in which an Edo kabuki star in the role of the Heike loyalist Taira no Kagekiyo is paired with one of the thirty-six classical poetic immortals and with the thistle (azami), a flower whose prickly toughness aligns naturally with the implacable warrior of the Kagekiyo cycle. The variant title 'Kagekiyo on a Kiyomizu Pilgrimage' alludes to the Kiyomizu shrine episode in which the hero's identity is exposed. Kunisada, the dominant designer of yakusha-e in nineteenth-century Edo ukiyo-e, presents the figure in a forceful half-length composition with the wild expression, set jaw, and patterned costume conventionally given to Kagekiyo roles in aragoto performance. The flower cartouche carrying the thistle spray and the series title cartouche at top mark the print as part of a coordinated set. The British Museum impression catalogued at ukiyo-e.org provides a stable reference for the design and supports broader study of Kunisada's mitate practice. Source: ukiyo-e.org / British Museum (https://ukiyo-e.org/image/bm/AN00431557_001_l).