Set against the warm, theatrical tones of early 20th-century Japan, this scene places Pepe within the emerging world of Shingeki, the “new theatre” movement that broke from classical kabuki to embrace realism and modern dramaturgy. Flanked by a poised woman in refined Taishō kimono and a stern actor whose makeup still echoes kabuki tradition, Pepe stands at the threshold between two cultural epochs. His calm, almost amused expression contrasts with the dramatic tension around him, embodying the hybrid identity of Taishō culture: a society navigating modernity while still rooted in inherited gestures, costumes, and stories. The flat colors, bold outlines, and poster-style composition evoke the shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga aesthetics of the era, transforming a theatrical moment into an emblem of cultural negotiation—humorous, modern, and unmistakably Pephistorical.