Souvenirs of the Eastern Capital on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido: The Actor Onoe Baiko III as the Cat Spirit of the Old Temple

Onoe Kikugoro III  (1784-1849) is identified in this print by his earlier name, Onoe Baiko. He had acquired the name Kikugoro, the most prestigious of the Onoe line, in 1815, when he was just over thirty. An exceptionally versatile actor, he was adept at hayagawari (quick-change) roles. An innovation of Osaka actors in the late eighteenth century, hayagawari became widely popular in kabuki during the early nineteenth century. Here Kikugoro enacts the role of a female spirit in the form of a giant cat, who appears as a shadow in the background. The actor wears a disheveled white wig of a style associated with demons, ghosts, or madness. His robes are ornamented with butterflies caught in spiders' webs. This print portrays Kikugoro in a role he performed after returning to the stage from retirement in 1841. He retired and returned to acting several times before his death.