Scene from the play “Daybreak patterns of the crane and tortoise - first basket” Scene from the play “Daybreak patterns of the crane and tortoise - first basket”

The history of the ladies-in-waiting competition in Kagamiyama was very popular. Originally written in 1782 for the Japanese puppet theatre bunraku, the play was staged the following year at the kabuki Morita theatre. The main plot is based on the cunning machinations of Tsubone Iwafuji, which lead to the suicidal death of the good and peaceful Onoe. However, the servant Ohatsu stood up for her mistress. Ultimately, Ohatsu avenges the death of her mistress by killing her evil rival with a sandal zori, which she had slipped in. This scene often appears in the woodblock prints, and in the LNMA collection there are many variations.