Omiya [The actor Nakayama Tomisaburo I as Ohide, wife of Sazanami Tatsugoro, actually Teriha, younger sister of Abe Sadato and Abe Muneto]

In this third print from the series Actors on the Stage, the onnagata actor Nakayama Tomisaburō I plays Ohide, the wife of Sazanami Tatsugorō. As is common in Kabuki, this character has a double identity; in the play she is revealed to be Teriha, younger sister of the twelfth-century warriors Abe Munetō and Abe Sadatō. The play, Otokoyama o-Edo no ishizue, was the season’s opening performance (kaomise) at the Kiri Theater in the eleventh month of 1794. Toyokuni designed some fifty prints for this series, which was published by Izumiya Ichibei over two years, from 1794 to early 1796. Here, the actors’ guild name—in this case Ōmiya—follows the series title in a cartouche at the left. Tomisaburō is identified by the paulownia crest on his bright yellow robe, as well as by his distinctive prominent nose and jutting chin. As in other prints from the series, the figure is highlighted against a pale gray ground, patterned with swirling marks made by the baren, a round printing tool applied to the back of the paper.
Sharaku depicted the actor in the same role in a bust portrait print in the Tokyo National Museum collection (LA-11718).