Background
Hime kurabe futaba ezôshi (Picture-book comparison of twin blades and the princess: 姫競双葉絵草紙), first performed in 1800, was one in a long series of jidaimono categorized as Oguri Hangan mono (or Oguri mono, "Oguri Hangan
plays") for both the puppet and kabuki theaters going back to the 1660s. These tales, mixing the historical with the fictional, took their inspiration from the military chronicle Kamakura daizôshi ("Great copybook of Kamakura"). The action was set during the Kamakura period (1186-1336) and featured the master of Hitachi Castle, Oguri Hangan Sukeshige, and his wife, Yokohama Terute. Oguri’s adventures follow many complicated paths, including political and military intrigues and supernatural episodes, his death due to poisoning by Terute's father and brother, and then his resurrection and revenge against his wife's family.
In Oguri Hangan kuruma kaidô, one of the Oguri mono, Namishichi was a former retainer of Oguri's (named Mitono
Kojirô). To save Terute from his evil brother-in-law (Onigawara no Dôhachi, who has taken her in a boat on Lake Biwa), he disembowels himself and tosses his intestines into the sea as he offers a prayer to the dragon gods. Terute is saved when the winds change and force the vessel onshore, where Namishichi slays Dôhachi before he dies.
Design
Kunihiro has depicted the fisherman Namishichi in a scene of exaggerated receding perspective with the rays of the sun drawn like beacons from a lighhouse. A rolling sea tosses a small fishing boat and crashes waves against the shore to create a picture of turmoil. In one of kabuki's over-the-top gestures, Namishichi has his long sword (katana) clenched between his teeth as he grips the rocky promontory and leans toward the sea.
Note the detail shown on the right, where the mica is especially visible on Rikan's right shoulder and sleeves.
References: IBKYS-I, no. 69; KNP-6, p. 264; IKB-I, no. 2-429; NKE, p. 487
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