This play is based on a famous and legendary story coming from the Battle of Yashima, an important battle in the wars between the Genji and the Heike. The Heike warrior Taira no Kagekiyo met in a one on one fight the Genji warrior Mionoya Shirô. None could win the fight until Kagekiyo grabbed and ripped off the metal plates on the back and sides of Mionoya Shirô's helmet. The legend said that the two warriors laughed and praised each other: Mionoya praised Kagekiyo's arm strength while the latter praised the former's neck strength. This scene was performed in many plays but the current version came from the scene set on Mt. Maya in Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Otokoyama Mamoridate Genji", which was staged in November 1873 in Tôkyô at the Moritaza with Nakamura Shikan IV and Bandô Hikosaburô V in the roles of Akushichibyôe Kagekiyo and Mionoya Shirô.

The actors Ichikawa Sadanji I and Ichikawa Danjûrô IX playing the roles of Mionoya Shirô and Akushichibyôe Kagekiyo in the drama "Shikorobiki", which was staged in October 1895 at the Meijiza (print made by Toyohara Kunichika)