The print depicts the actor Onoe Shoroku II in the role of the Priest Tsuchigumo from the celebrated kabuki play Tsuchigumo ("The Earth Spider"). The play draws on the legendary tale of the warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021) and his fateful encounter with a monstrous earth spider, who approaches him in the guise of a wandering priest offering to perform a religious service.

Yorimitsu accepts the offer, but as the priest begins to pray, his shadow swells and reaches across the room, enveloping the warrior like a silken web. Yorimitsu draws his sword and breaks the spell, wounding the creature and forcing it to flee. Unwilling to let the spider escape, he pursues it to its lair alongside his four loyal retainers. There, the earth spider makes its final stand — fighting with terrible ferocity before being struck down by Yorimitsu's companion Yasumasa, whose blade is immortalised in legend as Kumokirimaru, meaning "the spider-cutting sword."

Shunsen captures Tsuchigumo at a moment of theatrical intensity, the priest's outward composure barely concealing the monstrous power within — a tension that made this role one of the most visually dramatic in the kabuki repertoire.