Actor Ichikawa Komazō IV as Sumizome (the spirit of the cherry blossom, disguised as a courtesan) and Actor Matsumoto Kōshirō V as Ōtomo Kuronushi from the Kabuki play Tsumoru Koi Yuki no Sekinoto (Morita-za Theatre)

Katsukawa Shuntei (1770–1820/1824; place of birth unknown) was a disciple of Katsukawa Shun’ei and worked across a wide range of subjects, including actor portraits, warrior images, and landscapes. He was also active as a book illustrator, with his most notable contribution being the illustrations for Hana Edo Kabuki Nendaiki (Chronicle of Two Hundred Years of Edo Kabuki), written by Utei Enba and published in 1811.

This print depicts a scene from Tsumoru Koi Yuki no Sekinoto, staged at the Morita-za Theater in Edo in 1811. The lower figure is Ichikawa Komazō IV as Sumizome, while the upper is Matsumoto Kōshirō V as Sekibei. First performed in 1784 by Segawa Kikunojō III and Nakamura Nakazō I, the work is regarded as one of the masterpieces of kabuki dance. In the play, amidst a snowy landscape where cherry blossoms bloom in full, the spirit of the Komachi cherry tree appears in the guise of the courtesan Sumizome. She mourns the death of her beloved, expressing both grief and vengeance through an intensely emotional dance. The setting at the barrier of Mount Ōsaka recalls the legend of the Heian-period poet Kamitsuke no Mineo, who, upon losing a friend, composed the verse: “Cherry blossoms, if you have a heart, bloom in ink-dark hues.” Thus, the blossoms in the snow appear tinged with somber color. Eventually, the spirit of the Komachi cherry reveals her true identity as Sumizome and engages Sekibei in combat.

The choreography of this kabuki piece has been transmitted in relatively complete form to the present. Notably, postwar onnagata star Nakamura Utaemon VI performed the piece using choreography preserved by Fujiko Fujima.