The 3 foreground figures appear to be enjoying an outing by Edo Bay, stopping near a rock outcropping and pine tree. Since these elegantly dressed women appear to be engaged in a conversation, it is uncertain what the kneeling woman is pointing out...
men (male humans); soldiers; trees; military uniforms; halberds; swords; flags; cannons (artillery); ships; shores (landforms); fans (costume accessories); chairs
On the shores of Kagoshima Bay, where an imperial navy ship steams toward Sakurajima, Saigo Takamori (1827-1877) stands before a captured cannon wearing his Western style officer's uniform. To the right of Saigo is Kirino Toshiaki (1838-1877)...
On the beach of Yashima, an island off Shikoku, Minamoto Yoshitsune's forces did battle with the Taira on 24 March 1185. When the governor of Noto Province, Taira no Noritsune (1160-1185), raised his bow to shoot Yoshitsune, the brothers Sato...
This popular series that illustrates the war stories of the Heike monogatari was first published in 1898-99 by Fukuda Heijiro and then reissued (in this case in 1906 by a different publisher). The later editions are less subtly colored, but the...
women; kimonos; trees; flowers (plants); parasols; shores (landforms); children (people by age group); fishing; boats
Four women on a hillside overlook the pine-covered Ama-no-hashidate sand bar stretching into Miyazu Bay, considered one of Japan's three most scenic views. The woman standing on the left wears a black haori over a blue kimono and holds a closed...
men (male humans); women; swords; kimonos; shores (landforms)
The newly built Himeji Castle was believed, in the early 17th century, to be haunted by the Shinto spirit Osakabe Myojin. The famous warrior Miyamoto Musashi (1584?-1645) was summoned to exorcise the spirit, and he is shown here confronting...
women; children (people by age group); hairstyles; mountains; shores (landforms); trees; jewelry; kimonos
In this series, Chikanobu created a dramatic juxtaposition of multicolored close-up figural images with distant landscape scenes printed in blue and peach-colored inks. The detailed depiction of women continues the nishiki-e tradition that the...
According to the text panel, "Ransen was originally a person from Japan, and even though she was a woman, she had a pure heart and acquired the magic of the immortals, riding dragons and floating on clouds without end." From other sources, she...
women; men (male humans); princes; shores (landforms); trees; kimonos; boats
Prince Ariwara no Yukihira (818-893), according to the noh play "Matsukaze," was sent into exile at Suma, where he fell in love with two daughters of a salt-maker. After three years of banishment, Yukihira returned to Kyoto, leaving Murasame and...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos; calligraphy; trees; built works; shores (landforms)
The courtier Suguwara no Michizane (845-903) was unjustly forced from office in Kyoto and sent into exile at Dazaifu, in northern Kyushu. There Michizane taught local children “the secrets of calligraphy,” which became the title of the popular...
The Soga Brothers were historical figures whose vow of revenge has resonated in kabuki and noh theaters for centuries. Juro Sukenari (1172-1193) and Goro Tokimune (1174-1193) were the children of Kawazu Sukeyasu, an ally of the Taira clan, who was...
