Background
Meiboku sendai hagi (Lespedeza, the famous tree of Sendai: 伽羅先代萩) dramatized the intriques over succession within the Date clan of Sendai during the third quarter of the seventeenth century. It was performed in an alternate sekai ("world" or theatrical setting: 世界), set back in time during the Onin civil war under the Ashikaga shogunate of the fifteenth century (Ashikaga thus becomes a theatrical substitute for the Date clan name). It is a classic play, so popular that during the Edo period it had at least one performance nearly every year since its premiere in 1777. The fictionalized central story involved Lord Ashikaga Yorikane's (足利頼錦) forays into the pleasure quarter and his murder of the courtesan Takao (高尾). This episode is an amplification of an actual incident in which the twenty-one-year-old clan leader Date Tsunamune became the lover of the Yoshiwara courtesan Takao, causing a scandal that led to his downfall. Another story line involves Nikki Danjô (Yorikane's evil nephew who possessed supernatural powers and could transform himself into a rat), the orchestrator of a conspiracy to overthrow Yorikane. The intrigue failed, however, and Nikki was slain. Yet another plot development involves ôe no Hiromoto of the Kamakura court.
Design
Yoshikuni depicts Shikan II as Matsue Tetsunosuke (松枝鉄之助) posing on a balcony, possibly within a samurai mansion. He wears courtly garb and two swords, as only the samurai were permitted to use. He holds, as well, a long lance (naginata 長刀 or 薙刀). The crossed-scrolls emblem on his brown, dotted, stiff-shouldered kataginu (肩衣) ceremonial robe and on one of his blue sleeves represent the crest of the Nakamura acting lineage.
Note: Kabuki actors very often performed more than one role in a given play. See also YSK34.
Our impression of Yoshikuni's print is quite fine, with superb color on an untrimmed large sheet.
References: KNZ, no. 366; WAS-IV, no. 283; KBP-6, p. 136
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