Biography of Yoshitsune
(Hodo Yoshitsune
koi no Minamoto ichidaiki)
1848-1853
Minamoto
Yoshitsune (1159-1189) was a warrior whose tragic life has been fictionalized
in many plays and novels. He was placed
in a monastery after his father’s death in an unsuccessful revolt against the
dictatorship of Taira Kiyomori, but Yoshitsune
escaped and in 1180 joined a rebellion against the Taira Clan launched by his
brother Minamoto Yoritomo. Yoshitsune’s first
spectacularly successful campaign was against his cousin Yoshinaka
in 1184. That same year he led an
assault on the Taira forces camped at Ichinotani,
demoralizing and dispersing them. In 1185,
he finally annihilated the Taira in the naval battle of Dannoura. Yoshitsune was forced into an unsuccessful
rebellion against his brother Yoritomo in 1185. He eventually committed suicide in 1189 after
killing his wife and daughter. The
prints in this series are each about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a
size known as ôban.
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Scene: The
flight of Tokiwa-gozen through the snow with her
three children, Imawaka, Otowaka
and Ushiwaka Publisher:
Iba-ya Kyûbei Robinson:
S65.1 |
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Scene: The
tengu king (here called Kibune no keshin meaning
incarnation of Kibune) giving Ushiwaka
a fencing lesson Publisher:
Iba-ya Kyûbei Robinson:
S65.2 NOTE: Tengu are forest-dwelling creatures
that are either human-like with wings and long noses or bird-like. Kibune is a mountain just north of |
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Scene:
Yoshitsune clinging to the branch of a tree kicks over Mitsuma
no Daita who later became his retainer Kisanda Publisher:
Iba-ya Kyûbei Robinson:
S65.3 |
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Scene: Kawachi Kakutei on the lookout
in a pine tree with Chôhan and his gang below Publisher:
Iba-ya Kyûbei Robinson:
S65.4 |
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Another state of the above
print published by Jôshû-ya Jûzô
(seal bottom center) |
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Scene:
Yoshitsune with drawn sword in his room at an inn with Kumasaka
Chôhan outside Publisher:
Iba-ya Kyûbei Robinson:
S65.5 |
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Scene: The
beautiful 15-year-old Jôruri-hime helping
Yoshitsune wash his hands Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.6 |
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This is another version of
the above print. The background is
much darker with the landscape in the background being shadowy rather than
misty. The harsh synthetic inks
indicate that this is a later printing.
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Scene:
Yokogawa no Kankai attacking Yoshitsune from behind Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.7 |
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Scene:
Yoshitsune displaying his horsemanship before Fujiwara no Hidehira
at the latter’s castle in Mutsu Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.8 |
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Scene:
Yoshitsune with an open fan and Benkei with a naginata fighting on Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.9 |
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Another
state of the above print. |
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No image available |
Scene:
Yoshitsune and Benkei fighting with swords on Publisher: Robinson:
S65.10 |
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Scene:
Yoshitsune discovers Washio Saburô
at Hiyodori-goye trussing up a wild boar before the
Battle of Ichi-no-tani Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.11 |
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Scene:
Yoshitsune with Benkei and other followers under the cherry-blossoms at Suma after
the Battle of Ichi-no-tani Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.12 |
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Scene: Yoshitsune’s eight boat leap to escape from Noritsune at the Battle of Dan-no-ura Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.13 |
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Scene:
Yoshitsune and Shidzuka-gozen defending themselves
against the night attack at Horikawa by Tosa-bô Shôshun Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.14 |
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Scene: The
ghosts of Taira warriors–some in the form of crabs–attacking Yoshitsune and
Benkei at Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.15 |
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Scene: Satô Tadanobu wearing Yoshitsune’s
armor leaps down upon the warrior-monk Yokogawa Kakuhan
at Yoshino Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Jûzô Robinson:
S65.16 |
‘Robinson’ refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its unpublished supplement.
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