The Actor Yoshizawa Ayame I dancing with a flower-decorated umbrella

This print appears to depict a girl dancer holding a parasol adorned with cherry blossoms and bells. She seems to be playing the role of a samurai, with two swords tucked into her obi. In fact, the youthful dancer is most likely a male Kabuki actor playing the role of a female imitating a samurai or a young dandy. The large paulownia crests on his sleeves tell us that this is likely the famous onnagata Yoshizawa Ayame I.

The dancer’s robe has wide sleeve openings tied with tasseled cords (sasage), and decoration of grasses—a motif associated with the broad plain of Musashi—and stirrups (abumi). The combination resonates with a series of poems referring to the Musashi stirrups included in the ninth-century Tales of Ise. The design on the lower hem shows a horse under a thatched roof, a sword crossed with a halberd, a helmet and armored sleeve guards, and what appears to be a potted pine. The dancer’s role has not been identified.

This rare surviving example of Terushige’s work is hand colored with orange-red, purple, yellow, and green. Metallic filings embellish the umbrella stretchers.