The actors Nakamura Tomijuro II as the wet nurse Shigenoi and Ichimura Uzaemon XIII as Jinenjo no Sankichi in the play "Koi Nyobo Somewake Tazuna," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the fifth month, 1854

This 1854 woodblock print by Utagawa Toyokuni captures a poignant scene from "Koi Nyobo Somewake Tazuna," a beloved kabuki drama performed at the Ichimura Theater in Edo during the fifth month. The composition pairs Nakamura Tomijuro II in the role of the wet nurse Shigenoi with Ichimura Uzaemon XIII as Jinenjo no Sankichi, presenting one of the most affecting mother-and-son recognition scenes in the kabuki repertoire. The print belongs firmly to the yakusha-e tradition, the actor-portrait genre that formed a cornerstone of Edo ukiyo-e and which the Utagawa school dominated through the late Edo period. Toyokuni renders the actors with the carefully observed facial features that yakusha-e collectors prized, recording the specific likeness of each performer rather than offering an abstracted ideal. The figures occupy the composition with the studied gravity of professional kabuki performance, their costumes detailed with the patterned textiles and seasonal motifs that signaled rank, occupation, and emotional register to contemporary audiences. As a commemoration of an actual production, the sheet served simultaneously as souvenir, advertisement, and fashion document, circulating among theatergoers who recognized every gesture and crest. Published during a particularly active moment in the Utagawa workshop, the print exemplifies the mature visual vocabulary of Edo ukiyo-e on the eve of seismic political change. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves this impression among its holdings of nineteenth-century Japanese prints. For collectors and researchers exploring Utagawa Toyokuni and the yakusha-e tradition, the work demonstrates how the Ichimura Theater stage was translated into a portable image that could carry the performance into private homes throughout the city.