Japanese Heroes for the Twelve Signs
(Eiyû Yamato jûni-shi, 英雄山倭十二士)
Publisher: Mikawa-ya Kihei
1854
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, Japanese
heroes are likened to the twelve animals of the zodiac. 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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Sign: Rat
(Ne, 子) Hero: Kumasaka Chôhan
in monk’s robes Robinson:
S84.1 |
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Sign: Ox (Ushi, 丑) Hero:
Yamamoto Kansuke Nyûdo Dôki mortally wounded, leaning on his spear and resting
on a dead horse and warrior, a river and silhouetted warriors behind Robinson:
S84.2 |
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This is another state of the above print. The skin of the dead and dying is no longer blue, and other changes in the color palate have been made. |
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Sign:
Tiger (Tora,
寅) Hero: Katô Kiyomaso confronting one
of the tigers that plagued the invasion of Robinson:
S84.3 |
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Sign: Hare
(U, 卯) Hero: Shinodzuka Iga no Kami shouting on the seashore and grasping his spear Robinson:
S84.4 |
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Sign:
Dragon (Tatsu,
辰) Hero: Musashi-bô Benkei hurling the
great bell of Miidera Robinson:
S84.5 |
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A simplified version of the
above design |
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Sign:
Snake (Mi, 巳) Hero: Egara Hata kneeling on rocky
precipice to savage serpent that seized pheasant he was hunting Robinson:
S84.6 |
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Sign:
Horse (Uma,
午) Hero: Shirafuji Hikoshichirô carrying
his horse Robinson: S84.7 |
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This is another edition of
the above print in which all the green has been replaced by blue. |
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Sign: Goat
(Utsuji, 未) Hero: Kusunoki Kawachi hangan Masashige (1294-1336)
and his retainer making paper standards to trick the enemy Robinson:
S84.8 |
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Sign:
Monkey (Saru,
申) Hero: Onzôshi Ushiwaka Maru playing with monkeys by a cascade in a pine forest
by moonlight Robinson:
S84.9 |
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Sign: Cock
(Tori, 酉) Hero: Lord Sasaki Saburô Moritsuna with cockerel behind him Robinson: S84.10 |
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Sign: Dog
(Inu, 戌) Hero: Hata Rokurozaemon with his
faithful dog Robinson: S84.11 |
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Sign: Boar
(I, 亥) Hero: Kajiwara Heizo Kagetoki with attendants behind him looking out from
behind a banner Robinson:
S84.12 |
“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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