Warrior triptychs
1844
Title: Koromo no Toji ga musume nite Wataru ga tsuma etc. Description: Endô Musha Moritô
(center) approaching Kesa-gozen over the roof with
a drawn sword; in the background (left) a servant about to adjust the sandal
of Watanabe Wataru, her husband Publisher: Murata-ya Ichibei Date: 1844 Robinson: T129 |
I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
alternate state of the above design.
Note the color of the hanging lantern in the right sheet. |
Title: Gompachi wa Inshû no kin nari (権八は因州の産なり, The Story of
Shirai Gompachi) Description: Shirai Gompachi fighting off a gang of ruffians on the shore,
one of whom he has thrown into a fire, watched by Banzui
Chôbei (幡随長兵衛) Publisher: Ise-ya Kisuke Date: 1844 Robinson: T130 NOTE: Shirai Gompachi and Banzui Chôbei bear striking resemblances to kabuki actors Ichimura Uzaemon XII and
Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII, respectively. |
Another state of the above triptych with the seal of the
publisher Hayashi-ya Shôgorô |
Title: Hikosan ada-uchi no zu Description: Kyôgoku Takumi engaged by O-Sono
and O-Sada, daughter and widow respectively of
Yoshioka Ichimisai, watched by Keyamura
Rokusuke and a nobleman with his retainers Publisher: Yamaguchi-ya Tôbei Date: 1844 Robinson: T131 |
Title: Untitled Description: The Soga
brothers standing over the sleeping Kudô Suketsune in 1193 with Tegoshi
no Shôshô on the right Publisher: Date: 1844 Robinson: T132 |
Title: Yoshitsune ichidaiki no uchi: Minamoto no Yoshitsune-kô
Yoshino-yama no naka ni (義経一代記之内 源義経公よし野山中ひょうはく奥州落乃図) Description: Yoshitsune, his wife Kita-no-kata (Kyô-no-kimi) and Benkei in the snows
of Mount Yoshino in 1186 Publisher: Sen Date: 1844 Robinson: T133 |
Title: Heike no ichimon horobite
hôken wa saikai ni etc. Description: Yoshitsune, Benkei and Yoshimori listening to the report of two ama (female divers), mother and daughter,
named Oimatsu and Wakamatsu, who had tried to
recover the sacred sword of the regalia from the sea-bottom after the battle
of Dan-no-ura in 1185 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke Date: 1844 Robinson: T134 |
I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
alternate state of the above design. |
Title: Horikawa yo-uchi:
Tosa-bô Shôshun toyose no zu Description: Benkei, Shizuka-gozen, and Yoshitsune preparing to meet the attack of Tosa-bô Shôshun on the Horikawa
palace on November 10, 1185 Publisher: Iba-ya Kyûbei Date: 1844 Robinson: T135 |
Title: Takeda Shingen Uesugi Kenshin to go-gwatsu jûgo-nichi ryôshô etc. Description: Kenshin and Shingen face each
other across the river to discuss peace terms during the Kawanakajima
Campaign (1553-1563) Publisher: Sano-ya Kihei Date: 1844 Robinson: T136 |
I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
alternate state of the above design. |
Title: Rokusuke wa Buzen no kuni Hikosan no fumoto Keyamura no domin etc. Description: O-Sono fighting her father’s murderer, Kyôgoku
Takumi, by a river with Keyamura Rokusuke coming to her assistance Publisher: Fujioka-ya Keijirô Date: 1844 Robinson: T137 |
Title: Sôma no furu-dairi ni Masakado no himegimi Takiyasha yojutsu o motte mikata o atsumuru (年不明_相馬の古内裏 妖怪がしゃどくろと戦う大宅太郎光圀, Princess Takiyasha Summoning a Skeleton Spectre to Frighten
Mitsukuni in the Ruined Palace of Her Father, Taira Masakado, in Soma) Description: On the left,
the witch Takiyasha-hime (瀧夜叉姫), daughter of
Taira no Masakado, is reading an incantation to
call up a skeleton-specter to frighten Oya Tarô Mitsukuni (大宅太郎光圀). In the center, Mitsukuni
is beating Takiyasha’s servant, Araimaru
(荒井丸), with a
sheathed sword. Publisher: Yahata-ya Sakujirô (called “Hachi” by Robinson) Date: 1844 Robinson: T138 I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
image. |
This is a reproduction printed in the Shôwa era
(1926-1989) from recarved woodblocks. |
Title: Taira no Kiyomori-kô wa sono sembushin yori idete (太政入道浄海の図) Description: The dying Kiyomori in his last feverish sickness surrounded by
Taira nobles and ladies on March 20, 1181 Publisher: Sugi-ya Seibei Date: 1844 Robinson: T139 I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
image. |
Title: Tametomo wa Seiwa-tei hasse no son (Tametomo Shoots an Enemy Ship
with an Arrow, 鎮西八郎為朝伊豆の大島にて討手の兵船を射る) Description: Tametomo (left) sinking the foremost ship of Mochimitsu’s fleet with a single arrow; his mistress Sasarae and his henchman Oniyasha,
armed with a naginata and an iron
club respectively with the rough islanders look on in admiration Publisher: Horino-ya Tasuke (Robinson read
the publisher’s seal as “Ômi-ya Suke…” Date: 1844 (censor
Hama Yahei) Robinson: T140 NOTE: Another edition
with a different publisher’s seal and different text is listed as T113 in
Robinson. It is not clear which is the
earlier printing. |
I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
alternate state of the above design. |
This is a copy of the above triptych made by Ichiyûsai
Kunitoshi in 1883 with the title Tametomo kyôkyû no zu. |
Title: Somoku honchô sumai no okori-hara wa etc. (河津三郎俣野五郎相撲図, Picture of Kawazu Saburô and Matano Gorô
Wrestling) Description: Kawazu Saburô Sukeyasu and Matano Gorô Kagehisa wrestling before Yoritomo, umpired by Sanada Yoichi Yoshitada in 1170 Publisher: Ebisu-ya Shoshichi (Robinson
identifies the publisher as To-Sawa) Date: 1844 Robinson: T141 I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
image. |
Title: Nitta Sachûjô Yoshisada Kamakura etc. (The Battle between Nitta Yoshisada and
Taira no Takatoki, 新田義貞 鎌倉極楽寺切通) Description: Nitta
Yoshisada throwing his sword into the sea as an offering to the sea-gods to
enable him to attack the Hôjô in Kamakura in 1333 Publisher: Ezaki-ya Tatsuzô Date: 1844 Robinson: T142 I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
image. |
Title: Kennin san-nen
Minamoto no Yori-ie-kyô Fuji-no mi-kari no etc. (Nitta Shiro Tadatsune
Encounters the Avatar of Mt. Fuji, 仁田四郎忠常 富士権現に遇ふ図) Description: Nitta Tadatsune encountered the goddess of Mount Fuji and her
dragon in a cave in the mountain, in which are stalactites and a waterfall in
1203 Publisher: Tsuji-ya Yasubei Date: 1844 Robinson: T143 I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this image. |
I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this image
with blue instead of green in the text cartouche. |
Title: Dan-no-ura tatakai no zu (壇浦戦之圖, Battle of Dannoura) Description: After his
defeat in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, (April 25,
1185) Tomomori tied himself to a great anchor and
cast himself into the sea. Here he is
flanked by his retainer Sagami Gorô and his
mistress Tenji-no-tsubone.
Publisher: Koga-ya Katsugorô Date: 1844 Robinson: T144 I am grateful to Marc DeVriese for this
image. |
Another state of the above design with a red title cartouche,
courtesy of Robert Pryor. |
“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement. CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN
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