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...
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...
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,...
women; children (people by age group); bats (animals); trees; built works; bridges (built works)
As three bats / komori circle in the evening sky, two boys try to touch them with bamboo sticks while their mother and baby brother look on. Bats have long been a symbol of good luck in Northeast Asia because the words in Chinese for "bat" and for...
women; children (people by age group); flowers (plants); trees; gardens; kimonos; origami; urns; fusuma
Two children are conversing while folding origami cranes. They sit within a house, before a sliding door, overlooking a garden. To their left is a bamboo trellis and a large ornamental jar, and behind them a cluster of peonies is growing. A women...
processions; shamisen; musical instruments; women; kimonos; hats; men (male humans)
Two female shamisen players are standing near a warehouse building, while a daimyo procession goes by in the distance and two merchants walk into the middle ground. This painting on silk is delicately detailed, with tiny patterns on the kimono and...
If the "Mirror of the Ages" series is viewed chronologically, perhaps in an album format, the costumes prior to the Tenna era are quite elaborately decorated with various colors, patterns and techniques, which make the 2 images representing the...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; military uniforms; drums (membranophones); flutes (aerophones); biwa; swords; fans (costume accessories)
The emperor, empress and five court ladies at right observe a traditional shirabyoshi dancer. While the imperial couple sit in chairs at a table, their attendants kneel on the carpeted verandah. Also on the porch is an enormous flower arrangement...
Six women in the foreground are guards, uniformly dressed in thick black robes and protective headgear. They are responsible for protecting the Ooku evacuees whenever there is a fire or other disturbance. Several carry halberds / naginata sparks,...
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...
Yoshiwara was the pleasure district of Edo, a city within the city surrounded by high walls and a water moat, which housed Edo's prostitutes from 1617 to 1957. Its courtesans were considered among the "Flowers of Edo." The print combines three...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); caves; bats (animals)
Back to back print. Yoshitoshi here depicts an incident in which the 12th-century samurai Nitta Shirō Tadatsune discovered a mysterious cave on Mt. Fuji. While his companions were afraid to enter, the samurai seized a torch and entered the...
In the autumn fashionable geisha would dress in their lover's garments to visit the neighborhood shrine and participate in Niwaka kyogen, impromptu skits about life in the brothels. Dressed like an elegant young man, a young lady glances up at a...
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...
women; kimonos; flowers (plants); trees; Single Built Works
Within the Edo Castle inner compound was a garden area that was designed to resemble a quiet mountainous region, with rustic teahouses / ochaya where the women of the Inner Palace could relax as if in a country village. Two such thatched roof...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); caves; bats (animals)
Yoshitoshi here depicts an incident in which the 12th-century samurai Nitta Shirō Tadatsune discovered a mysterious cave on Mt. Fuji. While his companions were afraid to enter, the samurai seized a torch and entered the darkness. In a large...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); caves; torches (lighting devices)
Yoshitoshi here depicts an incident in which the 12th-century samurai Nitta Shirō Tadatsune discovered a mysterious cave on Mt. Fuji. While his companions were afraid to enter, the samurai seized a torch and entered the darkness. In a large...
Single Built Works; gardens; bridges (built works); women; men (male humans); kimonos; hairstyles; hair ornaments; helmets; swords; halberds
Yaegaki-hime dances at center holding the sacred helmet known as the Suwa hossho or "Suwa's unchanging essence," given by the kami or deities of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture to the Takeda clan. In the kabuki theater repertoire, this is considered...
men (male humans); soldiers; military uniforms; swords; hats;
With the Satsuma Rebellion in Kyushu capturing the country's attention in 1877, Tokyo publishers were quick to provide more background materials about Saigo and his men, such as this scene from a dramatic meeting in 1873 when Saigo quit the...
