
This print shows the role of Matsuōmaru from the play Mirror of Learning and Transmitting Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy (Sugawara denju tenarai kagami 菅原伝授手習鑑) with its standard two-line makeup. Kumadori, or stage makeup, is believed to have been first used by the actor Ichikawa Danjūrō I (1660-1704) around 1700 to emphasize strong male roles.