Courageous Leaders in Thirty-six Battles
(Yûkwai
sanjûrokkassen, 勇魁三十六合戦)
Publisher: Izumi-ya Ichibei
1851-1852
The total number of prints in this series is unknown, but is probably fewer than thirty-six. They are each about 10 by 14 inches (25 by 36 centimeters), a size known as ôban.
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Scene: The
encounter between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin in the river at
Kawanakajima with Hatsukano Denemon behind them Robinson:
S73.2 NOTE:
Takeda Shingen is holding his famous banner which reads, “Swift as the wind,
silent as a forest, fierce as fire and immovable as a mountain”, taken from
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. I am grateful to Geoff Dunn for this image. |
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Scene:
Nitta Yoshisada throwing his sword into the sea as an offering to calm the
waves Robinson:
S73.4 I am grateful to John Rose
and Auction Ukiyo-e Ltd. for this image. |
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Another state of the above
design with a black mountain in the distance |
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Scene:
Sasaki Takatsuna and Kajiwara Kagesue at the crossing of the Robinson:
S73.5 |
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Another state of the above
design |
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Scene:
Kiso Yoshinaka attempting to escape across the frozen bog, which breaks up
beneath him, after the battle of Awadzu-gahara; the fatal arrow is already on
its way and Kanemitsu fights of pursuers in the background Robinson:
S73.8 |
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Another state of the above
design with a yellow horizon |
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Scene:
Kusunoki Masatsura and Wada Masatomo under a hail of arrows in their last
stand at the Robinson:
S73.8 bis (listed in supplement) NOTE: This
print is unsigned. |
|
Scene:
Yûki Shichirô, Shinkai Arajirô and Adachi Tokurô are urging Minamoto no
Yoritomo and his followers to hide in a hollow tree after the battle of
Ishibashiyama while Doi Jirô is watching for the approaching enemy Robinson:
S73.9 |
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Another state of the above
design with a yellow title cartouche |
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Scene:
Ichirai-hôshi and Tsutsui Jômyô defending a partly dismantled bridge at the
first battle of the Robinson:
S73.10 |
|
Scene:
Satô Tadanobu wearing Yoshitsune’s armor and leaping down on Yokogawa Kakuhan
at Yoshino Robinson:
S73.11 Image courtesy of John Rose
and Auction Ukiyo-e |
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Another state of the above
design |
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Scene:
Prince Oto-no-miya Morinaga-shinno wounded after a battle drinking sake with
his followers while Kodera Sagami-bo entertains him with a dance Robinson:
S73.13 |
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Another state of the above
design with a green title cartouche |
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Scene: The
“reversed oars” dispute between Yoshitsune (right) and the Kajiwara before
the Battle of Yashima Robinson:
S73.13 bis (listed in supplement) |
|
Scene:
Izumi Saburô Chikahira shooting an arrow across the river into Hôjô’s
encampment Robinson: S73.14 |
|
Scene:
Kumagai Naozane watches Atsumori fleeing on horseback to the waiting Taira ships
while Taira Tadanori grapples Okabe Tadazumi at Ichinotani |
|
Scene:
Asahina Saburô breaking down the gate of the shogun’s palace in his attack on
Hôjô Yoshitoki |
|
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Scene:
Kusunoki Masatsura presenting a farewell cup of sake to his father Masashige while all present
weep |
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Scene:
Shirafuji Hikoshichirô confronting his horse on a dike while Taka-uji takes
refuge in a shrine in the background Robinson:
S73.36 |
“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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