Waseda University identifies the figures in this triptych in the water as: (on the left panel) Ichikawa Saruzō I, Bandō Shuka I, Nakamura Kanjūrō I (中村翫十郎), and Arashi Otokichi; (middle panel) Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII, Bandō Takesaburō I, Iwai Kumesaburō III, Ichikawa Hirogorō (市川広五郎), and Arashi Kangorō; (right panel) Nakayama Bungorō II. .
The figures of the swimmers are themselves the kabuki actors listed above. However, we are not convinced of their accuracy since the only Nakamura Kanjūrō we know of may have died in 1840.