This print is the twelfth in the Kabuki Jûhachiban (歌舞伎十八番, "The Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays") series of prints by the artist Kiyotada (also known as Tadakiyo). It depicts actor Ichikawa Danjûrô IX as Sôma Masakado (lower left), with an actor from the past as Tawara Tôda (upper right), in the kabuki play Kamahige ("Beard and Sickle"). The Ichikawa family version of Kamahige was originally staged in 1769 at the Nakamura Theatre and starred Ichikawa Danjûrô IV. For more information on the play, see this description.

In this print, Tawara Tôda prepares to shave Sôma Masakado, who is disguised as a monk, in the dramatic lead-up to the revelation of the two characters' true identities as the sons of the leaders of opposing clans. Delicate nunomezuri (a technique in which a piece of actual cloth is "printed" using a woodblock) has been used on Masakado's costume. As with all of the prints in this series, the detailed karazuri blind-embossing in the background is also a highlight. The print is similar to this earlier print by Utagawa Kunisada.