Choice of Heroes for the Twelve Signs
(Buyû mitate
jûnishi, 武勇見立十二支)
Publisher: Minato-ya Kohei
1840
The
Buddhist zodiac consists of twelve animals—rat, bull (or ox), tiger, hare,
dragon, serpent, horse, goat, monkey, cock, dog and boar. There is a story that only these twelve
animals came when called by Buddha, and this is the order in which they
came. These animals, including the rat
and serpent, have a better reputation in Buddhist countries than in the West. In this series of prints, historic and legendary
heroes are likened to the twelve animals of the zodiac. These prints are each about 14 by 5 inches
(36 by 13 centimeters), a size known as chûtanzakuban.
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Sign: Rat
(子) Hero:
Raigô Ajari at the Onjôji Monastery in Midera, turning Buddhist scripture
into rats in his disappointment at the Emperor’s disfavor. Ôye no Masafusa, the emperor’s envoy, looks
on in dismay. Robinson:
S17.1 |
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Sign: Ox (丑) Hero: The
bandit Kidô Maru (鬼道丸) gazing at his own reflection in the water. He disguised himself in the hide of a water
buffalo in order to ambush and kill Raikô. Robinson:
S17.2 |
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Sign:
Tiger (寅) Hero:
Kashiwade no Omi Hatebe (usually known as Hadesu) fighting the tiger that
killed his daughter Robinson:
S17.3 |
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Sign: Hare
(卯) Hero: Iga
Jutarô, the elderly retainer of Sôma Yoshikado, sacrificing a hare in a
Buddhist temple Robinson:
S17.4 NOTE: The clockwise swastika is an ancient Buddhist symbol that represents Buddha’s footprint, as well as plurality, eternity, abundance, prosperity and long life. It is the mirror image of the counterclockwise swastika adopted by the Nazis. |
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A later and simplified
printing of the above design |
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Sign:
Dragon (辰) Hero:
Susa-no-o-no-mikoto standing on a rock watching a dragon swimming under water Robinson:
S17.5 |
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Sign:
Snake (巳) Hero:
Nitta Shirô Tadatsune with snakes and a vision of the goddess of Mount Fuji Robinson:
S17.6 |
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Sign:
Horse (午) Hero: Soga
Gorô riding from Hakone to Mount Fuji where he and his bother Jurô to avenged
their father’s murder Robinson:
S17.7 |
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Sign: Goat
(未) Hero:
Kwanu (Kuan Yu) seated under a pine tree with a drink in his right hand and a
small goat before him Robinson:
S17.8 |
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Sign:
Monkey (申) Hero:
Songoku (孫悟空), also known as Sun Wu K’ung, king of the monkeys
conjuring an army of monkeys from the air to attack his enemy the pig Robinson:
S17.9 |
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Sign: Cock
(酉) Hero:
Kwaidô Maru (also known as Kintoki) umpiring a fight between a cock and a tengu Robinson: S17.10 NOTE: Tengu are forest-dwelling creatures
that are either human-like with wings and long noses or bird-like. |
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Sign: Dog
(戌) Hero: Hata
Rokurozaemon, a follower of Nitta Yoshisada, armed with a variety of weapons
and accompanied by his faithful dog Robinson: S17.11 |
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Sign: Boar
(亥) Hero:
Emperor Yûryaku Tennô (雄略天皇, 457-480) by a waterfall on Robinson:
S17.12 |
“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.
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