three separate sheets; orange bands of flame, radiating in the manner of a starburst from bottom edge left of center, across picture plane, with black ground with curls of grey and starbursts of orange and yellow; men's bodies, swords and helmets flying and flipping behind and between flames; man on brown rearing horse at right

Picture of Masakiyo's Challenging Battle as Retold in the Chronicle of the Great Peace, 1866, 10th lunar month

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Instead of depicting a standard battle scene with samurai fighting each other, Yoshitoshi captures the blast of an explosion in this unusual composition. The shock waves, rendered by black and gray swirls, whirl an uncountable number of warriors through the air.

Pictures portraying historical warriors from after the year 1573 (the end of the previous shogunate of the Ashikaga clan) were forbidden by the Tokugawa government. The title of this print therefore suggests that its source is the Chronicle of the Great Peace (Taiheiki), a historical epic covering the period from 1319 to 1367. The captured warriors, however, are actually from a later period. The name of the warrior on horseback on the right is inscribed as Satō Kazue-no-kami Masakiyo, which is a fantasy name for Katō Kiyomasa (1562–1611). Kiyomasa was an ally of the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598), who is regarded as Japan’s second Great Unifier. Another ally was Kimura Shigenari (1593–1615), here called Shimura Masazō Katsutoyo. He wears green armor and appears at bottom left.

Details
Title
Picture of Masakiyo's Challenging Battle as Retold in the Chronicle of the Great Peace
Artist Life
1839 - 1892
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2017.106.72a-c
Catalogue Raisonne
Keyes, Courage and Silence (1982), no. 178; Iwakiri, Yoshitoshi (2014), fig. 52, p. 297.
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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three separate sheets; orange bands of flame, radiating in the manner of a starburst from bottom edge left of center, across picture plane, with black ground with curls of grey and starbursts of orange and yellow; men's bodies, swords and helmets flying and flipping behind and between flames; man on brown rearing horse at right