Shocho as Oman

This [yakusha-e](/glossary/yakusha-e) shows the onnagata Shocho in the role of Oman, a female character recurring in several kabuki plays drawn from Edo-period repertoire. Yamamura's onnagata portraits negotiate a particular visual problem: the male actor performing femininity on stage produces a stylised beauty that earlier ukiyo-e [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) could address only obliquely. The composition typically presents the figure in a moment of stillness, with kimono pattern, hairstyle, and accessories rendered through the meticulous registration that [nishiki-e](/glossary/nishiki-e) of the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) era required. The print would have been produced in a limited edition through a Tokyo publisher, with sequential blocks supplying line, base color, and supplementary tones, and [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) applied freehand by the printer to soften transitions across the obi and collar. As with much of Yamamura's theatrical work, the picture functions both as a portrait of a specific performer and as a documentary record of a performance that has otherwise vanished from the historical record.