Adoring fans watch Onoe Tamizō II 尾上多見蔵 二代目 (1800-1886) at the age of 80, playing the thunder god, raijin, [Nakanori Kaminari], in the play Hatsuharu no kotobuki iwau kokonobake, in this double-bookplate by Kyōsai appearing in the 16th volume of the arts magazine Bijutsu Sekai (World of Art), published in February 1892, three years after Kyōsai's death in 1889. Note the candles at the end of bamboo rods that the kurogo (black-clad stage assistants) would have held to illuminate the actor at critical times in the play.

It is one of four prints designed by Kyōsai appearing in volume 16, all of which feature older characters - the kabuki actor Onoe Tamizō II at the age of 80; the warrior Ōkubo Hikozaemon 大久保 彦左衛門 (1560-1639) at the age of 82; the Confucian scholar Kō Gentai 高玄岱 (1649-1722) at the age of 78; and a prostitute at the age of 89.¹

The Play Hatsuharu no kotobuki iwau kokonobake

Source: website of Osaka Prints https://www.osakaprints.com/content/artists/info_pp/shuncho_gajuken_info/shuncho_gajuken_01.htm

"Hatsuharu no kotobuki iwau kokonobake (Nine changes for long-life in early spring: 初春寿九化) brought together a set of nine pieces for a single actor to showcase his skills in acting, recitation, and dance. It is an example of so-called hatsuharu kyôgen ("early spring plays" or "New Year's plays": 初春狂言).

"Kaminari (かみなり), also Raiden (雷電) or Raijin (雷神), the thunder god, was typically depicted with a red body, a demon's face, and clawed feet. Among his possessions were thunder-making drums, which in many depictions of this god he seems always to be misplacing and attempting to relocate. A drum wheel was worn by the actor, who attached it to a harness around the waist. The wheel would arc above his head (forming a sort of nimbus), and the actor would play it with drumsticks held in both hands."

cover of Bijutsu Sekai, Volume 16 巻十六

Comments on Kyōsai from Volume 16 click on image to enlarge

Twenty-five issues of Bijutsu Sekai 美術世界 (World of Art) were published from December 22, 1890 until the final issue on January 2, 1894.  The magazine presented fifteen or more works of well-known contemporary and past master artists to the public in woodblock form in each issue.  The woodblocks were either reproductions of paintings in reduced-size or original woodblocks. Published by Shun'yōdō  春陽堂, a Tokyo publishing firm best known for publishing illustrated novels, each issued was edited by the nihonga artist and designer of woodblock prints, Watanabe Seitei 渡辺省亭¹ (1851-1918), who specialized in kachoga (bird and flower paintings).