The actor Segawa Kikunojo V as Ayame no Mae

This 1817 print by Utagawa Toyokuni shows the onnagata Segawa Kikunojo V as Ayame no Mae, the court lady who, in the legend of Minamoto no Yorimasa, was promised to the warrior as his reward for slaying the monstrous nue. The sheet is the central panel of a [triptych](/glossary/triptych) that arranges Yorimasa, Ayame no Mae, and I no Hayata across three star portraits. Considered as an independent design, it functions as a fine [yakusha-e](/glossary/yakusha-e) of one of the era's leading female-role specialists in a role that condensed the romantic and ceremonial ideals of Heian-era nobility.

Kikunojo V was the bearer of one of Edo's most distinguished onnagata names, and Toyokuni rises to the occasion with an elegant costume study, layered robes, hair ornaments, and an attentive expression all working in concert to evoke the heroine's status. The Utagawa-school facial likeness ensures that the print is also an act of celebrity portraiture; for contemporary viewers, Ayame no Mae and Kikunojo V were inseparable aspects of a single theatrical event. The composition presents the figure in three-quarter view, with the body slightly turned toward the central axis of the original triptych.