Sharaku depicts two wives - one with a good husband, and the other paired with a villain - in the kabuki play 'Koi Nyobo Somewake Tazuna'. The actors here are Iwai Kiyotaro 岩井喜代太郎 (left), and Bando Zenji 坂東善次 (right).

Kiyotaro's character is Fujinami 藤波 - the wife of Sakisaka Sanai (good man) - while Zenji plays Ozasa 小笹- the wife of Washizuka Kandayu (the villain) .

It seems each wife’s appearance reflects their husband’s character.

Sharaku skillfully depicts the two contrasting personalities very well - through the facial expressions, and the shape of the forehead, body posture and hands.