An image of a rat. Raigo was a stern man, a priest whose duties included maintaining discipline among the acolytes of Mii Temple. A member of the influential Fujiwara family, he became spiritual adviser to Emperor Shirakawa (reigned 1072-86). ...
An image of a woman holding a severed head. The beautiful but evil woman who ruined a nation by seducing its ruler away from his duties was a familiar subject during certain periods of Chinese and Japanese history. In the popular imagination, the...
maps; ships; boats; flags; swords; halberds; rifles (long guns); military uniforms; Built complexes and districts; soldiers
In July 1882 dissatisfied Korean military units rebelled against King Kojong's government, surrounding his palace, destroying the homes of Queen Min's relatives, overrunning police stations to free political prisoners, and attacking the Japanese...
In the 11th century novel Tale of Genji, the Third Princess, young wife of the middle age Prince Genji, ventures to the verandah of her quarters to observe some courtiers playing kickball / kemari. Although she is supposed to stay hidden behind...
porches; bridges (built works); princes; kimonos; hats; Japanese maple; swords
Meiji period color woodblock triptych depicting a seated Prince Genji attended by his maids watching two actors performing on a bridge. The sun is setting in the background.
Oto no Miya (1308-1335), also known as Prince Morinaga, was the son of Emperor Godaigo who had been forced into exile in 1331. Morinaga led an army against the military dictatorship in an attempt to restore the monarchy. Yoshitoshi uses an...
Oto no miya Morinaga (1308-1335) was the third son of Emperor GoDaigo (1288-1339) and closely involved with his father’s efforts to restore political power to the imperial family. However, when Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) decided to claim the...
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...
Princess Toyotama, daughter of the Dragon King of the Sea, gives birth to the Divine Prince Ugayafuki Aezu, by turning from her human form into a dragon.
depictions; men (male humans); warriors; horseback riding; war horses; armor (protective wear); battles
Taira-no-Masakado (903?-940) was a warlord who rebelled against the Kioto government of the Fujiwara Shoguns. In the 930s he seized eight provinces and founded a court at Sashima, calling himself Heishin No (Taira Prince). Masakado was defeated and...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; masks (costume); tables (support furniture); screens (furniture); built works
The 11th century Tale of Genji was parodied by Ryutei Tanehiko (1783-1842) in his serial novel False Murasaki, Rustic Genji / Nise Murasaki, Inaka Genji with Mitsu-uji substituted for Prince Genji and all the other characters slightly changed. Here...
men (male humans); women; kimonos; military uniforms; chairs; daises; fans (costume accessories); hair ornaments; drums (membranophones); flowers (plants); vases
The emperor and empress sit on the dais in the background overseeing the presentation of the Emperor's Gift Cups to military leaders involved in quelling Saigu's Satsuma Rebellion. Yamagata Aritomo, Commander of the Imperial Army in Kyushu, is...
group portrait; princes; women; kimonos; hairstyles; men (male humans); hair ornaments; flowers (plants); swords; toys (recreational artifacts); children (people by age group); banners; blinds (coverings); porches; carriages (vehicles)
The emperor appears at far left dressed in traditional court robes surrounded by his female attendants, some of whom are helping wheel a baby carriage and toy horses into the palace chamber. Being published in May 1878, this seems like a...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); natural landscapes
The Indian prince Daruma is seated on a pile of straw in a ruin, absorbed in meditation. The moon shows through a hole in the wall with a vine silhouetted in front of it. Daruma is wrapped in a richly colored red robe and has finely detailed curly...
When he was sixteen, Prince Usu of Yamato was sent by his father to suppress a rebellion by the Kumaso, an aboriginal tribe to the west. Before leaving the prince visited his aunt, from whom he borrowed female clothes. Upon his arrival at the...
Within the series of more than 20 triptychs, at least 2 have close-up scenes, in which the figures dominate the composition. When viewing these images mounted in a handscroll format, the sudden appearance of these large forms in quite jarring...
