actors; built works; trees; men (male humans); kimonos; hats; hair ornaments; flowers; arrows; bells (idiophones); swords
Actors gather outside the main hall of the Ooku residential area to give a special performance for the new year on the first "horse day" of the 2nd month (according to the zodiac calendar). One actor carries a hunting bird while another actor is...
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). ...
Built complexes and districts; men (male humans); emperors; empresses; dresses (garments); horseback riding; military uniforms; hats; banners; carriages (vehicles)
Riding in an elaborate carriage, the emperor and empress have departed the Tokyo Imperial Palace, seen beyond the moat and stone walls, via the recently constructed Niju bashi / "Double Bridge" that leads from the southeast side of the palace...
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...
Lord Sadanobu was a minister at the Heian court in the first half of the tenth century. The 13th-century book Okagami tells the story of how one evening, as he was hurrying to a meeting at the imperial palace, he felt something grab the end of his...
Lord Sadanobu was a minister at the Heian court in the first half of the tenth century. The 13th-century book Okagami tells the story of how one evening, as he was hurrying to a meeting at the imperial palace, he felt something grab the end of his...
depictions; men (male humans); women; kimonos; trees; riverbanks; birds (animals)
In the moment before Umegae's death, a cuckoo catches Dainin's attention and perhaps causes him to reflect upon the transience of life. The budding plum tree and the plum flower pattern in Umegae's kimono refer to her name and possible rebirth...
An image of a woman, bound, with hair in her mouth. Over the two-year period from 1887 to 1888, Yoshitoshi produced his last and most accomplished set of "newspaper prints" as supplements to the Yamato newspaper. Muraoka (1786-1873) was a...
Emperors; courts (social groups); fountains; kimonos; military uniforms; lanterns (lighting devices); flags; trees; Built complexes and districts; clock towers; bands (ensembles)
The emperor and court ladies stand between two fountains that flank the entry into the Ueno Park compound housing the Second National Industrial Exhibition that was open to the public from 01 March to 30 June 1881. Such fairs followed European and...
Print of a courtesan, tying a scarf on her head. This series of 24 images of courtesans shows typical moments of the various times of day. The licensed brothels in South-Central Tokyo would close at dawn and here a prostitute prepares to leave...
flags; men (male humans); military uniforms; ships; rifles (long guns); boats; swords; banners; Built complexes and districts
Following the destruction of the Japanese legation buildings in Seoul and the escape from Incheon of the minister and his staff, the Japanese government decided to retaliate. Hanabusa Yoshimoto was sent back to Korea with 3 warships and several...
folk tales; women; kimonos; grasses (plants); birds (animals)
Tamamo no mae was the beautiful and learned concubine of the Emperor Toba. One evening during a banquet, the wind rose and the lights went out, and the emperor became ill. The court magician declared this the sorcerous work of the concubine, who...
An image of two women. In a series of seven prints, Yoshitoshi depicted the consorts of the Meiji Emperor. These two women before a waterfall are thus identified with Wednesday (water day). While the new Meiji government allowed artists more...
hair ornaments; calligraphy; mirrors; hand mirrors
To celebrate and document the fashions of former times, Chikanobu created a chronological presentation of beautiful women in sumptuous garments. Above the foreground figures are pictorial insets which make reference to the era of the costume,...
Back to back print. A man in a blue robe and a black samurai hat stands holding a fan; a younger man in a red kimono and holding a sword sits at his feet. Behind them is a screen painted with crane, and through an open doorway one can see a stone...
Once upon a time, a woodcutter saved a badger's life. In gratitude the badger, which, like a fox, is capable of many transformations (see no. 3), turned itself into a tea kettle. The woodcutter sold the kettle to a priest at Morin Temple in the...
A man in ragged robes sits on the ground before a yellow-flowering bush watching sparrows flying above him. Sanekata was a poet and high-ranking nobleman of the Fujiwara clan. He died in exile in 994. Toward the end of his political career,...
A man in ragged robes sits on the ground before a yellow-flowering bush watching sparrows flying above him. Sanekata was a poet and high-ranking nobleman of the Fujiwara clan. He died in exile in 994. Toward the end of his political career,...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); armor (protective wear); Buddhas
An armored samurai is wrestling a red demon and multitude of skeletons under the gaze of a grinning yellow Buddha. Toki Motosada has seized the demon by the wrist and is throwing it down. Moths flutter around them under a full moon.
Where...
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...
