The 10th century poetic anthology Tales of Ise contains several verses that reportedly describe the love life of Ariwara no Narihira (825-880). According to legend, this handsome poet and courtier eloped with Fujiwara no Koshi (842-910) who was...
Although a trusted retainer of the warlord Oda Nobunaga (1510-1551), Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582) was enraged when Nobunaga murdered his mother. Mitsuhide attacked Nobunaga at the Kyoto temple of Honno-ji, setting it afire. Nobunaga reportedly...
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 short biography of the famed kabuki actor Bando Hikosaburo V (1832-1877) was written by the novelist Okamoto Kisen and illustrated by Chikanobu. Hikosaburo came from a family of carpenters living in the Asakusa area of Edo and was adopted in...
Moonlight gives a soft pink glow to the cherry blossoms and falling petals. The woman at center carries a woven bamboo lantern that also shines up into the tree limbs. The breeze that caused a cascade of petals has also touched her sleeves to sway,...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; emperors; hats; blinds (curtains); knives
According to legend, the 16 year old Emperor GoKomatsu (1377-1433) greatly loved a woman whose family had ties to the former Southern Court in Yoshino, so that when she became pregnant, suspicions were raised by other imperial concubine about her...
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...
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...
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...
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...
depictions; men (male humans); taiko; warriors; spears (weapons); swords
Yoshitoshi depicts a real character: Oishi Kuranosuke--chief of the famous forty-seven ronin of Ako--about to lead the night attack on Lord Kira's mansion. Yoshitoshi probably included Kuranosuke in this series of the 24 Accomplishments in Imperial...
A kneeling woman lifts a heavy padded cloth. She wears a gray kimono patterned with flying birds, grasses and a river and underneath this three white under robes, which show at the front and back openings of her long sleeves. Her orange obi is...
