Background
The plot of Hana fubuki Hakone no akebono (Flowers and snow at daybreak in Hakone: 花雪箱根曙) is unknown to us.
Design
Yoshitaki produced at least eight designs for this production of Hana fubuki hakone no akebono, which is named in the tri-color cartouche at the upper left of this diptych. Some of Yoshitaki's designs for the play are known in more than one state, suggesting that the play was very successful and that prints depicting scenes from the performance sold well enough to warrant later editions.
A far cry from his slim physique in the 1820s, Onoe Tamizô II (1799-1886; 尾上多見蔵) was by this time overweight, which Yoshitaki has captured accurately. Tamizô, who studied with three formidable actors — Segawa Senjo (1751-1810), Nakamura Utaemon III (1778-1838), and Onoe Kikugorô III (1784-1849) — was the son of a theater hairdresser, and possibly illiterate. Even so, Tamizô was a popular actor who performed in both the large and middle theaters in Kamigata. He was skilled in a wide range of roles that he performed in a popular flamboyant style. Arashi Kichisaburô III (1810-1864; 嵐吉三郞), capable of performing a wide range of roles, was a successful actor in both Kamigata and Edo.
Actors at full gallop, as here, are a rather rare subject in ukiyo-e.
References: IBKYS-5, no. 148
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