Young Woman Dressed as Yaoya Oshichi, Holding a Libretto of the Play Yaoya Oshichi koi sakura shōsashi

This print is a witty take on the popular tragic love story of Yaoya Oshichi 八百屋お七 (Oshichi, the greengrocer’s daughter), the subject of many plays of the period. After meeting a handsome young man while her family was living in a Buddhist temple after a major fire in Edo, and continuing a passionate correspondence with him, she set fire to her neighborhood in order to see him again. She was later caught and convicted of arson, a capital offense.

In an Edo version of cosplay (a contemporary Japanese pop-culture term for “dress up,” combining the words “costume” and “play”), the print shows a kabuki fan dressed as Oshichi, holding a copy of a recent play about her. The circle motif at her elbow shows a love letter; the caged bird symbolizes Oshichi’s plight; and the plum blossom (on the cage), pine, and bamboo (on her kimono), known as the Three Friends of Winter, symbolize the New Year’s prayer in which Oshichi accidently revealed her guilt.

A special effect seen in the black bow of the woman’s obi (sash) is known as urushi-e (lacquering). Glue was added to the black ink and burnished after the ink dried, giving it a shiny, lacquer-like gloss.