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...
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). ...
A sketch of two actors, Sakata Kintoki and Tsuchigumo in a play from the story of Raiko and the Earth Spider. In this tale, Raiko, while on a quest in search of a giant flying skull, found himself feeling ill and retired for the night. A servant...
Takiyasha, the third daughter of the rebel Taira no Masakado (died 940) is shown carrying a sword, bell and torchlight, as she prepares to destroy Oya no Taro Mitsukuni, who had been sent to inspect the ruins of Masakado fortress following its...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); swords; kimonos; waterfalls (natural bodies of water); baskets
The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety are based on a compilation of Confucian tales of exemplary behavior by children to their elders. In this tale, Chi Shun went into the forest to gather mulberries for his widowed mother, throwing the ripe, black...
This scene is from the 2nd act of the long play "The Precious Incense and Autumn Flowers of Sendai" / Meiboku Sendai hagi, first written in 1777 for the Osaka kabuki stage in and then greatly expanded in 1785 for the puppet theater, the reverse of...
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...
Lord Nabeshima Naoshige (1538-1618), the military governor (daimyo) of Hizen Province, is being threatened by the Cat Monster of Saga, which is seeking revenge for the deaths of Ryuzoji Matahichiro and his mother. Killer cats have long been a...
Lord Nabeshima Naoshige (1538-1618), the military governor (daimyo) of Hizen Province, is being threatened by the Cat Monster of Saga, which is seeking revenge for the deaths of Ryuzoji Matahichiro and his mother. Killer cats have long been a...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); swords; flowers (plants); kimonos; lamps (lighting devices)
Minamoto no Mitsunaga sent his son Bijomaru to a temple to study and become a priest, but Bijomaru practiced martial arts instead. His father was angry and ordered his chief retainer Nakamitsu to kill Bijomaru. Nakamitsu could not bring himself to...
Built complexes and districts; streets; banners; women; men (male humans); palanquins; processions; floats (vehicles); soldiers; kimonos; trees; fans (costume accessories); blinds (coverings); hairstyles; hats
A grand summer festival with a parade of palanquins and floats was staged on the 15th day of the 6th month to celebrate the Mountain Deity (Sanno) of Hie Shrine who had protected Edo Castle since 1478. Ota Dokan (1432-86), the military governor of...
women; kimonos; children (people by age group); porches; men (male humans); Single Built Works; blinds (coverings); swords
Two married women and a young girl are shown leaving a gated compound, and the text panel indicates that one is the wife of the warrior Kajiwara Kagesue (1162-1200) who has taken a branch of cherry blossoms. At right is a young messenger boy...
men (male humans); armor (protective wear); curtains; elderly
An image of an old man, bare-chested, with a knife in his hand, throwing a cup (which shatters) against a pillar. Yoshitoshi's Warriors Trembling with Courage is the transitional series from the clamor of Yoshitoshi's early prints-with their...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); women; bats (animals); dresses (garments); bell (idiophone); edged weapons; armor (protective wear)
In the top panel two bats, one carrying an umbrella and a scarf and the other two swords, parody Act V from the play Chushingura, the murder of Yoichibei by Sadakuro during a thunderstorm. In the lower half, the monk Anchin hides in a bell to...
An image of a warrior with sword and bow and arrows in the foreground, looking back at human/demon forms dancing in the background. Minamoto no Tametomo was, like Oniwaka/Benkei (7), an extremely violent youth. By the time he was fifteen he is...
portrait; men (male humans); robes (main garments); stringed instruments (musical instruments); biwa; women; trees
After the Hogen Rebellion in 1156, the courtier and musician Fujiwara no Moronaga (1137-1192) was exiled to the island of Shikoku. That autumn he consoled himself with a visit to Mt. Miyaji. Yoshitoshi depicts Fujiwara no Moronaga playing a biwa by...
An image of a beautiful woman and an old crone with a lamp made of peony flowers. The Peony Lantern is a ghostly romance adapted from an old Chinese tale by the novelist Encho in 1884. The chilling story was extremely popular and was dramatized...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); caves; bats (animals)
While hunting with the shogun, the 12th-century samurai Nitta Shirō Tadatsune distinguished himself by seizing and killing a wounded boar about to attack the shogun. A couple of days later, Tadatsune was walking on Mt. Fuji, and he and his...
portrait; men (male humans); robes (main garments); stringed instruments (musical instruments); biwa; women; trees
After the Hogen Rebellion in 1156, the courtier and musician Fujiwara no Moronaga (1137-1192) was exiled to the island of Shikoku. That autumn he consoled himself with a visit to Mt. Miyaji. Yoshitoshi depicts Fujiwara no Moronaga playing a biwa...
An image of a warrior with sword and bow and arrows in the foreground, looking back at human/demon forms dancing in the background. Minamoto no Tametomo was, like Oniwaka/Benkei (7), an extremely violent youth. By the time he was fifteen he is...
