Utagawa Kunisada 歌川 国貞 (Toyokuni III)

The female figure depicted here is the protagonist of the joruri play written in the background. Joruri, a narrative form that originated in Japan in the 1400s with stories sung by blind musicians, was later incorporated into puppet theater. The rounded and exaggerated calligraphic strokes seen here, formed with turns of the brush, are a style said to have been developed for writing joruri text. The combination of image and text in this example provides visual and aural experiences for viewers familiar with its references.