Although the Heike forces had fled to boats off the shore of Yashima, one vessel turned back to the beach. At its prow stood a young woman, dressed in beautiful court garments, who took a folding fan decorated with the rising sun emblem and...
Watanabe no Tsuna, a Heian retainer of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, accepted a dare to keep vigil at the Rasho Gate, reputed to be haunted by demons. He took up a post at the gate, and in the darkness, he was attacked by the demon--an oni. Drawing his...
men (male humans); women; kimonos; flutes (aerophones); horseback riding
Lady Kogo was a great beauty and the best koto player in the palace of Emperor Takakura, but when Prime Minister Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181) became outraged by the Emperor's attraction to Kogo, she went into hiding in the hills of Saga. The...
women; hairstyles; hair ornaments; kimonos; banners; lanterns (lighting devices); Single Built Works
Midway in the series is Horeki no koro (1751-63) which shows a modestly dressed woman, probably a merchant's wife, and the inset depicts the upper facáde of the kabuki theater Nakamuraza in Edo. The scene is identified as a kao mise / "face...
In the 3rd month of the year, special tea ceremonies were held in the Inner Palace when guests and hosts played sophisticated games, such as guessing which types of tea were being served, or exchanged roles. In mawaribana guests took turns...
In a variation on the "Cat Monster of Saga" story, (see plates 34-35 for description of the kabuki play), the mother of Ryuzoji Matahichiro appears to be threatened by Nabeshima Naoshige (1538-1618), who took control of Saga Castle and its domain...
women; men (male humans); children (people by age group); boys; kimonos; actors; swords; bamboo
This appears to be a variation of "The Bamboo Room" scene from Act II of the play "The Precious Incense and Autumn Flowers of Sendai / Meiboku Sendai hagi." In the standard kabuki play version, the shogun's son Tsuruchiyo is friends with Senmatsu,...
women; courtesans; monks; men (male humans); children (people by age group); kimonos; hair ornaments; trees
A famous courtesan of Sakai took the name "Jigoku," meaning "hell," and had images of hell displayed on her robes and on the clothes of her attendants. She exchanged poems with the Zen monk Ikkyu (1394-1481), who frequented brothels as part of his...
men (male humans); costume; hairstyles; hair ornaments; hats; headgear; actors
Chikanobu provided illustrations for a number of board games and playing cards. These 3 sheets with 27 portraits of kabuki actors were probably published between 1882 when Nakamura Sennosuke (1860-1926) took the stage name Sawamura Tosshi VII and...
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...
The Battles of Coxinga/ Kokusenya kassen is based on the true adventures of Coxinga/ Watonai, a warrior of Chinese and Japanese parentage, who fought for the restoration of the Ming Chinese government after its defeat in the 17th c. by Manchu...
The oldest known Japanese narrative, this sad fairy tale dates back to the 9th or 10th century. In this tale Kaguya-hime was found inside a bamboo stalk by a bamboo cutter, who took her home and raised her as his daughter. As she grew up the fame...
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...
women; men (male humans); folding screens; kimonos; knives
According to the text panel, which reads like a police report, Tokunaga Bin attacked and stabbed seven people at the Sugidoya in the New Yoshiwara pleasure quarters on the 23rd day of the 7th month of 1879. A native of Fukushima Prefecture, this...
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...
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...
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...
The medieval warrior Mori Rikimaru stands with his bloodied spear and two severed heads slung around his neck as trophies. On May 15, 1868 two thousand troops loyal to the shogunate fought a desperate battle at Ueno, in Edo, near the tombs of some...
Back to back print. A warrior in armor carries another across his back from the battlefield. The battle behind him is represented by black, swirling clouds and red flashes. Okubo Hikozaemon (1560-1639) was one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's trusted generals...
portrait; men (male humans); kimonos; dog (animal)
The Japanese rebel and statesman Takamori Saigo (1827-1877) was the military leader of the imperial forces against the shogunate leading to the Meiji restoration. His growing discontent with the curtailment of the privileges of the samurai class...
