Actor Ichikawa Dannosuke III as Shirabyōshi; Bandō Matajūrō and Asao Yūjirō as shoke (temple acolytes); from the kabuki play Kyōkanoko Musume Dōjōji (Kiri-za Theatre)

Utagawa Toyokuni (1769–1825; born in Edo) studied under Utagawa Toyoharu, the founder of the Utagawa school, and became renowned for his actor prints, laying the foundation for the school’s later prosperity. His disciples included Utagawa Kunisada I and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, both of whom would carry the Utagawa style into subsequent generations. From 1794, Toyokuni gained wide recognition with his series Yakusha Butai no Sugata-e (Portraits of Actors on Stage), which depicted kabuki performers with a luminous, transparent quality. The series became immensely popular, surpassing contemporary rivals such as Sharaku and Katsukawa Shun’ei. Toyokuni was also a distinguished painter of beauties, portraying women with a healthy, approachable humanity distinct from the refined elegance of Kitagawa Utamaro. In his later years, he moved away from his earlier style, developing sharper, angular facial features and a distinctive rendering of hunched backs and thick necks, which became characteristic of the Utagawa style. This shift, often associated with the influence of his disciple Kunisada, aligned with the increasing demand for mass-produced prints and the tastes of the growing urban audience, helping secure the continued dominance of the Utagawa school.

This print depicts Ichikawa Dannosuke III (1786–1817) in the role of Shirabyōshi from Kyōkanoko Musume Dōjōji, performed at the Kiri-za Theatre in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in 1816. At the time, the Ichimura-za Theatre had been temporarily closed due to financial difficulties, and its auxiliary venue, the Kiri-za, assumed responsibility for staging performances in its place. In this period, actors themselves were often involved in the management of theatres; Dannosuke, as the principal organizer of the Kiri-za, is believed to have appeared in this production in order to support the theatre.
Around the same time, Bandō Mitsugorō III (1775–1832), celebrated as a master of shosagoto (dance pieces), also performed Kyōkanoko Musume Dōjōji, and Dannosuke’s interpretation and expression of the role are said to have been comparable to—if not rivaling—that of Mitsugorō.