Actors Segawa Kikunojō III as wakawa-no-Tsubone (T) and Arashi Sanpachi I as Miura Danjō (B) 若狭の局 三代目瀬川菊之丞, 三浦弾正 初代嵐三八

 Miura Danjō holding a long strip of paper for poems (tanzaku) 短冊. A scene from a Kabuki play Utsukushiki yuki no sekai 媚皠雪世界. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].

  Actor Ichikawa Omezō I as Yakanbei (Left) やかん平 初代市川男女蔵

 Left print of a triptych. Yakanbei is a fox who turns into Yokanbei and trying to protect Kuzu-no-ha and her son in center print from the enemy. A scene from a Kabuki play Ashiya dōman ōuchi kagami 芦屋道満大内鑑. Signature: 五渡亭国貞画 [Gototei Kunisada ga]. Publisher: 東屋大助 [Azumaya Daisuke].

  Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke III as Kuzu-no-ha (Center) くずの葉 三代目市川門之助

 Center print of a triptych. Kuzu-no-ha and her son trying to escape from the enemy. A scene from a Kabuki play Ashiya dōman ōuchi kagami 芦屋道満大内鑑. Signature: 五渡亭国貞画 [Gototei Kunisada ga]. Publisher: 東屋大助 [Azumaya Daisuke].

  Actor Bandō Hikosaburō IV as Yakko Yokanbei (Right) 奴与かん平 四代目坂東彦三郎

 Right print of a triptych. Yakko Yokanbei is a retainer of Kuzu-no-ha in the center print and trying to protect her and her son from the enemy. A scene from a Kabuki play Ashiya dōman ōuchi kagami 芦屋道満大内鑑. Signature: 五渡亭国貞画 [Gototei Kunisada ga]. Publisher: 東屋大助 [Azumaya Daisuke].

  Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō as Itō Sōta 伊東壮太 (八代目市川団十郎)

Itō Sōta, a loyal retainer of Naoshima Tairyō Naoshige 直島大領直繁, is struck by a waterfall. Scene from a Kabuki play Hanano no saga nekomatazōshi 花埜嵯峨猫魔稿. Signature: 五渡亭国貞画 [Gototei Kunisada ga]. Publisher: 恵比寿屋庄七 [Ebisuya Shoshichi].

  Actor Onoe Matsusuke I as Prince Koreaki 是明親王 初代尾上松助

 Kabuki actor Onoe Matsunosuke I make a mie (a theatrical expression of great emotion) as Prince Koreaki. A scene from a Kabuki play Kigotonohana Yashima kaijin 雪八島凱陣. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 三河谷清右衛門 [Mikawaya Seiemon].

  Actors Ichikawa Komazō III as Yuri Hachirō; Bandō Mitsugorō III as Sakaki Sakon, actually Tarō-gitsune (male fox); and Iwai Kumesaburō I as Sakon's Wife, actually Kojorō-gitsune (female fox) 三代目市川高麗蔵の由利八郎, 三代目坂東三津五郎の榊左近実ハ太郎狐, 初代岩井粂三郎の左近女房実ハ小女郎狐

 Ichikawa Komazō is standing with arms folded as Yuri Hachirō. Two actors bend their hands to imitate foxs. A scene from Kabuki plays Waga furusato kari no tsumagoto 我栖里仮爪琴 and Tametomo yumiya no oyafune 為朝射親船. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 森屋治兵衛 [Moriya Jihei].

  Earth Spider (Tsuchigumo), actors Ichikawa Omezō I as Watanabe no Genji Tsuna (B) and Onoe Matsusuke I as Katsuragisan no tsuchigumo no seikon (T) (Sprit of Eearth Spider of Mount Katsuragi) (土蜘) 渡辺の源次綱 初代市川男女蔵, 葛城山の土蜘の精魂 初代尾上松助

 Watanabe no Genji Tsuna attacks the spirit of earth spider that causes his master's illness. A scene from a kabuki play Shitennō Momiji no Edoguma 四天王楓江戸粧. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 西村屋長 [Nishimuraya

  Ichikawa Kodanji IV as a Ghost of Takayama Kengyō 高山検校ノ霊 (四代目市川小団次)

 Takayama Kengyō was killed by Naoshima Tairyō Naoshige 直島大領直繁 while they were playing a game of go. Kengyō's cat turned into Naoshige's wife and suffered him every ight. Scene from a Kabuki play Hanano no saga nekomatazōshi 花埜嵯峨猫魔稿. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 恵比寿屋庄七 [Ebisuya Shoshichi].

Actor Onoe Shōroku I as Kasane かさね 初代尾上松緑

Ghost of Kasane standing on a pebble studded walkway of the Kine riverbank where she was killed by her lover. She is a character in the Kabuki play Iromoyō chotto karimame 色彩間苅豆, a.k.a. Kasane. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].

  Actor Onoe Shōroku as Gama sennin がま仙人 尾上松緑

Gama sennin, a ghost of frog seated with a giant frog on his head. A scene from a Kabuki play Matazoru shōroku osakabe banashi 復再松緑刑部話. Signature: 五渡亭国貞画 [Gototei Kunisada ga]. 河内屋源七 [Kawachiya Genshichi].

Actors Ichikawa Danjurō as Yūnen Shōnin (R) Matsumoto Yonesaburō as Yoemon musume Osaku (C) Onoe Shōroku as Kasane bōkon (L) 祐念上人 市川団十郎, 与右衛門娘おさく 松本米三郎, かさねぼうこん 尾上松緑

Kasane, who was killed by Yoemon, came out to cling to Yoemon and his second wife's daughter, Osaku. Yūnen Shonin priest on the right is trying to exorcize her. A scene from a Kabuki Kasane ga fuchi satemo sononochi 累淵扨其後. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].

  The lovers Rikiya and Konami, from the series Bijin Awase Jōruri Kagami 美人合浄瑠璃鏡 力弥 小なみ

 A scene from a Jōruri and a Kabuki play Kanadehon chūshingura 仮名手本忠臣蔵. Ōboshi Rikiya was a member of the Treasury of Loyal Retainers. Rikiya and his fiancée Konami at their last meeting before Rikiya's death in battle. Signature: 一楽亭英水画 [Ichirakutei Eisui ga]. Publisher: 丸屋文右衛門 [Maruya Bun'emon].

Komurasaki of the Tamaya in Edo-machi, kamuro Sakuno and waruki 江戸町玉屋内 小紫 さくの わるき

A high-ranking courtesan Komurasaki and another courtesan. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].

Kichijūrō of the Kage Manjiya, from the series Models for Fashion: New Year Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves (Hinagata wakana no hatsu moyō) 雛形若菜初模様 かげまんじ屋内 吉十郎

he courtesan Kichijūrō of the house Kage Manjiya and two Kamuros, servants in New Year. Signature: 湖龍斎画 [Koryūsai ga]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].

Tufted toothpick (Fusa yōji) (房楊枝)

A standing courtesan using a tufted toothpick. Inscription: comic tanka poem by Kokontei Mishima 古今亭三島. Signature: 応需国貞画 [Ōju Kunisada ga]. Publisher seal cropped.

  Chiyonōhime looking at the moon reflected in a stream 千代能姫

  The beginning of the sentences written on the left of the print read "Once upon a time, Chiyonōhime went to fetch water on the night of full moon, and the bottom of the tub passed through and the moon could be seen from it. She wrote a song and became enlightened..." Signature: 五精画 [Gosei ga], 五精述 [Gosei jutsu].

Matsukaze 松風

Against a steely grey background, a brine maiden carrying her buckets. Her name is inscribed on the title label of an inset picture of a book. She became characters in a Noh play Mataukaze 松風 and Jōruri plays Matsukaze Murasame sokutai kagami 松風村雨束帯鑑 and Yukihira sonare no matsu 行平磯馴松, and a Kabuki play Shiokumi 汐汲み. Signature: 春信画 [Harunobu ga].

Act VIII, the Journey (Hachidanme michiyuki), from the series the Treasury of Loyal Retainers in Eleven Sheets (Chūshingura jūichimai tsuzuki) 忠臣蔵 八段目 道行 十一枚続

A scene from Act VIII of the Kabuki play Kanadehon chūshingura 仮名手本忠臣蔵. Konami and her mother-in-law, Tonase, travel on foot from Edo to Yamashina in Kyoto to meet with Rikiya, her fiancée. Signature: 春章画 [Shunshō ga].

Courtesans with tobacco pipes and a fan (キセルと団扇を持つ遊女たち)

Against a yellow background a group of courtesans in conversation. Title and inscriptions are cut off on the top. The technique of this woodblock print that does not use flashy colors such as crimson is called benigirai 紅嫌い and became popular for about 20 years in the 19th century. Sibnagutre: 春潮画 [Shuncho ga].

Autumn Moon of the Mirror, from the series Eight Views of the Parlor 座敷八景 鏡台の秋の月

Two women at the parlor looking at the autumn moon reflected in the mirror of the dresser. Signature: 春山画 [Shunzan ga].

Tachibana Armor with Chrysanthemum-Stream Motif and Sutra Scroll of Universal Gate Chapter, from the series Four Types of Existence (Shishō no uchi, Fumonbon, Kikusui yoroi, Tachibana) 四牲之内, 普門品, 菊水鎧, 橘

Probably a later Meiji reproduction of an earlier work by Hokusai. Inscription: comic tanka poem by Sōkaen Takemaru 草花園嶽丸. Signature: 北斎改為一筆 [Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu]. Privately Printed (surimono).

The Lower Shrine, from the series Souvenirs of Enoshima, a Set of Sixteen (Enoshima kikō, jūrokuban tsuzuki) 江島記行 下宮 十六番続

One of the 16 surimono prints by comic tanka poems (kyōka) 狂歌 group that went on a trip to Enoshima. Inscriptions: comic tanka poems, "Hikiwatasu/ kasumi ni kaze no/ tsuyokaraba/ nami sae hana no/ ka ni nioikeru" ひきわたす/ 霞に風の/ つよからぱ/ 波さえ花の/ 香に匂ひけり by Nyosuitei Shunji 如水亭春時, "hatsumi no hi/ mutsumaji tsuki no/ mikihiraki/ manji tomoe ni/ kukuru tsuchibashi" はつ巳の日/ むつまじ月の/ みきひらき/ 万字巴に/ くくる土箸 by Banritei Hiromaro 万里亭弘麿 and "Haru konuto/ isoite furi/ tsumishi yuki yori/ yagate hana no/ akehono" 春来ぬと/ いそいてふり/ つみし雪より/ やがてはなの/ あけほのby Shinsōtei Yamamatsu 森総亭山松. Signature: 北渓 [Hokkei]. Privately Printed (surimono).

Two Chinese Women examining thread and a spider’s web in a box (right) (唐美人)

Right print of a diptych. The library does not own the left print. The complete set can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago's digital collection. Inscriptions: comic tanka poems by Mochizuki Kagenari 望月影成 and Komado Baikō 小窓梅好. 岳亭定岡筆 [Gakutei Sadaoka hitsu]. Privately Printed (surimono).

Actor Ichikawa Danjurō as Soga Gorō Sharpening the Arrow (Yanone Gorō) (市川団十郎の矢の根五郎)

Soga Gorō is sharpening a gigantic arrow on a grindstone for preparing avenge his father's death. Yanone 矢の根 is one of the Kabuki plays based on the tale of Soga Brothers. It is also one of the Eighteen Best Plays of Kabuki, Kabuki jūhachiban 歌舞伎十八番 selected by Ichikawa Danjūō VII in 1832. Inscriptions: Comic tanka poems by Bunsōsha Matsutoshi 文操舎松年, Bunsō Takemasa 文窓竹雅 and Bunbunsha (1780-1837) 文々舎. Signature: しんば 本松写 [Shinba Motomatsu sha] Privately Printed (surimono)

Xiangru (Shōjo), from the series Mengqiu (Mōgyū) 蒙求 相如

The Han dynasty figure Sima Xiangru 司馬 相如 who was a famous calligrapher writing on the pier of a bridge. Mengqiu was a classic textbook for beginners. Inscriptions: comic tanka poems by Ōsō Karyūko 桜窓可龍虎 and Yōchōtei Misako 窃窕亭美左古. Signature: 北渓 [Hokkei]. Privately Printed (surimono)

Heian court lady (平安宮廷婦人)

A lady waring Jūni-hitoe 十二単, a costume of Heian court. Inscription: comic tanka poem by Hakumosha Manshu 白毛舎万守. There is a very similar print by same artist with different colors of Kimono and a poem. It can be seen at the Museum of Fine Art Boston's digital collection. Title of the print is Lady Fujitsubo (Fujitsubo no nyōgo), from the series Two Beauties from the Tale of Genji (Gengo nikajin). Signature: 岳亭筆 [Gakutei hitsu]. Printed (surimono).

Half-length portrait of an actor as Kaneomaru 江戸名所圖會 二四 渋谷 金王丸昌俊 八代目市川団十郎

Nakamura Utaemon and Ichikawa Ebijuro in a cave with stalactites 双図 顔見世狂言 市川蝦十郎 中村歌右衛門

Diptych Season-Opening Play (Kaomise kyōgen), Ichikawa Ebijūurō and Nakamura Utaemon in a cave with stalactites

Actors Ichikawa Hakuen I as Fujiwara Suketsune (R) and Ichikawa Omezō I as Gorō Tokimune (L) 藤原祐経 初代市川白猿, 五郎時宗 初代市川男女蔵

A scene from a Kabuki play Hatsu Monpi Yosooi Soga 初紋日扮飾曽我. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].

Actors Ichikawa Yaozō III as Ume no Yoshibē (R) and Segawa Kikunojō III as nyōbo (wife) Koume (L) 梅の由兵衛 三代目市川八百蔵, 女房小梅 三代目瀬川菊之丞

Ume no Yoshibē and Koume are a married couple in a Kabuki play Zōhō Ume no Yoshibē 増補梅由兵衛. Yoshibē killed Chōkichi to get money for his master without knowing that Chōkichi was Koume's brother. Signature: 豊国画 [Toyokuni ga]. Publisher: 上村与兵衛 [Uemura Yohē].

A Hero of the Forty Seven Ronin 誠忠義士傳 矢頭與茂七教兼

No. 3, Yatō Yomoshichi Norikane, from a series of the True Loyalty of the Faithful Samurai (Seichū gishi den)

Heike Ghosts at the Daimotsu-no-Ura Bay (left) (大物之浦平家の亡霊 三双図) (左)

Left print of a triptych. Ghost of Shin-chūnagon Tomomori 新中納言知盛 and the Heike ghosts are attacking Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 and his warriors in their ship. A scene from a Kabuki play Yoshitsune senbon sakura 義経千本桜. It is also originally based on a Noh play Funa Benkei 船弁慶. Signature: 一勇斎国芳画 [Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga]. Publisher: 東屋大助 [Azumaya Daisuke].

Heike Ghosts at the Daimotsu-no-Ura Bay (center) (大物之浦平家の亡霊 三双図) (中央)

Center print of a triptych. Kamei Rokurō Shigekiyo 亀井六郎重清 and Musashibō Benkei 武蔵坊弁慶, who are on the ship, are fighting Heike ghosts. A scene from a Kabuki play Yoshitsune senbon sakura 義経千本桜. It is also originally based on a Noh play Funa Benkei 船弁慶. Signature: 一勇斎国芳画 [Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga]. Publisher: 東屋大助 [Azumaya Daisuke].

Heike Ghosts at the Daimotsu-no-Ura Bay (right) (大物之浦平家の亡霊 三双図) (右)

Right print of a triptych. Suruga Jirō Kiyoshige 駿河次郎清重 and Minamoto no Kurō Yoshitsune 源九郎義経 are on the ship to prepare to fight Heike ghosts. A scene from a Kabuki play Yoshitsune senbon sakura 義経千本桜. It is also originally based on a Noh play Funa Benkei 船弁慶. Signature: 一勇斎国芳画 [Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga]. Publisher: 東屋大助 [Azumaya Daisuke].

Hanazuma of the Hyōgoya 五人美人愛嬌鑑 兵庫屋 花妻

Hanazuma of the Hyōgoya house, from the series of Comparing the charms of 5 beauties (Gonin bijin aikyō kagami)

Mosquito net seller (Kayashō), from the series Modern Scenes of Summer (Tōsei natsu-geshiki) 當世夏景色 かや商

Young woman with fashionably black-dyed teeth. In a circle inset at the top left boxes of mosquito net are drawn. Signature: 五渡亭国貞画 [Gototei Kunisada ga]. Publisher: 松村辰右衛門 [Matsumura Tatsuemon].

The lovers Rikiya and Konami, from the series Bijin Awase Jōruri Kagami 美人合浄瑠璃鏡 力弥 小なみ

• A scene from a Jōruri and a Kabuki play Kanadehon chūshingura 仮名手本忠臣蔵. Ōboshi Rikiya was a member of the Treasury of Loyal Retainers. Rikiya and his fiancée Konami at their last meeting before Rikiya's death in battle. Signature: 一楽亭英水画 [Ichirakutei Eisui ga]. Publisher: 丸屋文右衛門 [Maruya Bun'emon].

A Daimyo's wife and her attendants fording a river in a palanquin 大井川渡り

Triptych Crossing the Ōi River

The courtesan Tsukonosuke with her attendant gazing at a cuckoo in the rain 名妓三十六佳撰 つたの助の話 十六

No. 16, Tsutanosuke, from a series of the Excellent Selection of Thirty-six Noted Courtesans (Meigi sanjūroku kasen)

Courtesan reading a letter representing "Rain at Karasaki Pine" 濡布女鳴神 近江八勇の内 唐崎夜雨

Karasaki no yau from a series of the Eight Heroes of Ōmi Province in Nuregoromo Onna Narukami (Nuregoromo Onna Narukami, Ōmi hachiyū no uchi)

• Kambara
• Kanbara: Ferry at the Fuji River (Fujikawa funawatari); Pulling in Customers for an Inn (Yadohiki) from a series of the Fifty-three Stations [of the Tōkaidō Road] by Two Brushes (Sōhitsu gojūsan tsugi)

Kambara

No. 16, Kanbara: View of the Fuji River from Iwabuchi Hill (Iwabuchi no oka yori Fujikawa chōbō) from the series Famous Sights of the Fifty-three Stations (Gojūsan tsugi meisho zue)

Nissaka

Nissaka: Sayo Mountain Pass (Nissaka, Sayo no nakayama) from a series of the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi)

Narai, Station 35

No. 35, Narai Station: Shop for the Famous Local Product, Oroku Combs (Naraijuku, meisanten no zu), from a series of [Sixty-nine Stations of the] Kisokaidō Road

Tsukuda-jima [in Edo] in Musashi Province (Buyō Tsukuda-jima), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) 富嶽三十六景 武揚佃嶌

In Hokusai's time the island of Tsukuda was a fishing village at the mouth of the Sumida River. The great variety of the sizes and types of boats shown in this view from the vantage point of the estuary is an indication of the range of goods traded. Signature: 前北斎為一筆 [Saki no Hokusai Iitsu hitsu]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].

The Cushion Pine at Aoyama (Aoyama Enza-no-matsu), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) 富嶽三十六景 青山円座松

The Cushion Pine was a famous pine tree in the garden of Ryuganji, a Zen temple in Harajuku. A group of visitors chatting at a picnic table in the foreground. In the corner a man points out the view of Mount Fuji to a boy. Signature: 北斎改為一筆 [Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi]

The Tama River in Musashi Province (Bushū Tamagawa), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) 富嶽三十六景 武州玉川

Mount Fuji rising majestically from a band of mist above the Tama river. Signature: 北斎為一筆 [Hokusai Iitsu hitsu]. Publisher: 西村屋与八 [Nishimuraya, Yohachi].