The
print shows the Kabuki play Yagushi no Watashi, as
it was performed in May 1841, at the theatre Kawarazaki za,
in Edo. Standing we see Ichikawa Danjuro VII, the
leading Kabuki actor of the 19th century, in the role of
Tombei, the ferryman, looking down to his daughter Ofune,
played by Iwai Tokaju. The other leading role in
the play, Yoshimine, was played by Ichikawa Ebizo V.
At
the time of the print Ichikawa Danjuro VII was
still exiled in Osaka, having been arrested in 1842 for
violating the sumptuary laws enacted with the Tenpo
Reforms.
