In the context of this artwork, discuss the Osome of the Subject.
In this print, Rikan II is depicted as Osome, heroine of Somemoyō Imose no Kadomatsu (染模様妹背門松) (The Love of Osome and Hisamatsu). Originally written for the bunraku (文楽) puppet theatre, it was adapted for the kabuki stage in 1782. It is one of several dramas recounting the tragic true story of two star-crossed lovers who committed double-suicide in 1710, one the daughter of a merchant, the other, her father's apprentice. Osome was a popular subject for yakusha-e artists and often depicted wearing a kimono decorated with hemp flowers.Rikan II appeared in this role at Osaka's Kado theatre in the ninth lunar month of 1830, and it is likely that this print was completed in celebration of this performance. He reprised the role at the Kitagawa theatre in the eleventh lunar month of 1832, which was memorialized in a print by Shunbaisai Hokuei.
kabuki yakusha-e bunraku Shunbaisai Hokuei Osaka