Background
Shosagoto (所作事): “Pose business,” or “thing of posture,” was a kabuki dance interlude or sequence within plays on kabuki programs. The term was first applied to describe kabuki dance drama pieces during the Genroku era (1688-1703), with the first instance just preceding that era in 1687. Shosagoto generally comprise elements of pre-Edo dance (mai 舞), Edo-period dance styles (odori 踊 or 躍), and everyday gestures (furi 振). These pieces appear to have developed first in the performances of the female impersonators (onnagata 女方 or 女形), and during the early years of shosagoto the most popular style was a dance in plays about ghosts or demons. Later, other styles were developed, including quick-change dances (for example, nanabake, or “seven changes” 七変化) and flamboyant male dances called "six directions" (roppô 六方) and lit., "Before Tan's pieces" (tanzen-mono 丹前物).
Design
This delightful triptych depicts a dance piece, and by the look of the gestures of the actor Onoe Tamizô II and frog on the center sheet, it is an energetic choreography. The actor in the frog suit is not named.
The kana written in the pink cartouche on the middle sheet (ukare ka iru うかれかいる) might be read as the "frolicking one" or "giddy with delight."
For more about the artist, see Hirosada Biography.
References: WAS-IV, no. 431 (inv: 中H489)
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