Chronicle of the Dan-no-ura Helmet, Koto Torture Scene

At the front and center of this triptych is Akoya, an entertainer in the pleasure quarters of Kyoto. She was mistress to an aristocrat, a Heike warrior named Taira Kagekiyo (died 1196). In 1185 he was captured in the battle of Dan-no-ura, but was able to escape. Akoya was interrogated about his whereabouts by Iwanga Saemon Munetsura, an assistant of Hatakeyama Shigetada (samurai that fought in the Dan-no-ura battle) in a palace at Horikawa. He threatened Akoya with torture if she would not reveal where Taira was hiding. Shigetada had his own plan to discover if she told the truth and presented Akoya with three instruments and asked her to perform for him. Depicted is Akoya playing the koto, also known as a zither. In her song Akoya sings of her love for Taira Kagekiyo in such a pure and steady manner that Shigetada, who is seen holding his fan upright, has no reason not to trust her and accepts that she does not know where Taira is. Iwanga looks irritated as he rests his arm on a brazier. Akoya is then released.

"Dan no Ura Kabuto Gunki" was originally written for the puppet theater and staged for the first time in September 1732 in Osaka. It was adapted for the kabuki stage that same month in Kyoto.