Background
The text of the play has apparently not survived, but it seems to be an adaptation of Ômonguchi yoroi kasane, written by Namiki Sôsuke in 12/1743, when it premiered at the Ônishi Theater in Osaka. It features a complicated saga in which Shôkurô plots against Shinkurô, the murderer of his father. As the names and aliases on the present design suggest, some of the characters took on disguises and false identities during the intrigues fueling the plot twists.
Design
This is a most unusual triptych, with one sheet centered above the remaining two, an arrangement rare enough to require directions. The inscription on the right floor screen in the background of the top sheet reads kono e jô-ge san mai tsuzuki: "This print continues above the lower sheets." (The left screen on the top sheet is inscribed with Utaemon's role name, "Mino no Shôkurô.") Very few such designs are known, either in kamigata-e or Edo-e. The middle positioning of the top sheet is used to great effect here, as Mino no Shôkurô stands on the balcony and deftly pours oil to write a message on the floor between Gantetsu and Hinazuru. The two protagonists stop to stare, as if caught in a freeze frame.
非常によい摺りと色合い。保存状態良。（蝦十郎の着物に光沢あり。下左右は裏打され、繋がっており、上の絵は裏打なく、繋がりもない。）
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