The actor Bandō Hikosaburō IV as Orikoshi Masatomo (C) attacked by the ghost of Asakura Tōgo played by Ichikawa Kodanji IV

The kabuki performance associated with this image was based on events that took place in 1653. In art and theatre of the 1840s and 1850s, names and places of historical figures were often changed to avoid censorship while remaining recognisable. In this instance, Asakura Tōgo is based on Sakura Sōgo (Sōgorō), a village leader who protested the poor conditions of local farmers. For his heroism, Sakura Sōgo and several of his family members were put to death. He swore revenge from beyond the grave. Here, as the bloodied ghost of Asakura Tōgo, he appears on each sheet of the triptych print, haunting the man who instructed his murder, the feudal lord Orikoshi Masatomo (the historical Hotta Masanobu).