The actor Ichimura Kakitsu IV (1844-1903) is in the role of Takechi (Akechi) Jujiro, paired with the actor Bando Shinsui (the poetry name of Bando Hikosaburo V, 1832-1877) in the role of Jujiro’s father, Takechi Mitsuhide, from the play The Illustrated Chronicles of the Regent (Ehon taikoki), staged at the Ichimura Theater in the 8th lunar month of 1865. The play chronicled the final days of Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582; renamed Takechi in the play to avoid the ire of shogunal censors), the Sengoku-period daimyo who rebelled against Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) in an attempt to seize control of Japan. These two prints likely represent the final scene of the play in which Jujiro returns gravely wounded from a disastrous battle, a broken arrow still protruding from his back, and implores his father in his dying breath to flee from the approaching enemy. Takechi heeds his son’s warnings but is assassinated by a common farmer whilst on the run.
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