The play Kagekiyo gently describes a pitiful aspect of human life through the life of a once great warrior, who lost battles and became destitute. It also narrates a deep love of human beings through the daughter seeking her lost father. It is 20.3 x 24.5 cm and in overall fine condition bearing the carvers seal in the back.
Following the defeat of the Taira clan by the Minamoto (Heikei) in the Gempei War, Kagekiyo, a Heike warrior who was once renowned for his bravery, became blind and was banished to the province of Hyūga. He is thus separated from his daughter in Kamakura named Hitomaru, born from a prostitute. After hearing a rumor that her father yet lives, the daughter goes to find him with her retainer. Seeing a bliond man the retainer asks him whether he knows the whereabouts of Kagekiyo, Kagekiyo pretends he does not know, denying out of shame that he is Kagekiyo himself. He insists that because he is blind, he has never seen the man. After that, Hitomaru meets a villager and is told about her father’s situation. Thanks to the villager’s help, she is finally able to meet with her father. Kagekiyo then responds to her requests and narrates the story of the battle at Yashima. It is the great battle scene which he fought against Mionoya no Shirō of the Genji, pulling Mionoya’s neck protector, the shikoro*. When he finishes the story, Kagekiyo tells his daughter that his life will soon end and he asks her to console his soul after his death. Then the father and the daughter separate again.
