Introduction

Exhibition Sections

Hishikawa Moronobu
Okumura Masanobu
Suzuki Harunobu
Katsukawa Shunshō
Tsutaya Jūzaburō
Hokusai and His Circle
The Nineteenth Century

Reference

Credits
Exhibition Information
Related Events
Media

The Nineteenth Century: Expanding the Parameters of Ukiyo-e

During the twelfth century, the Minamoto and Taira clans waged decades of battles that are the themes of countless stories and pictures. In the decisive sea battle at Dannoura in 1185, the brilliant and charismatic commander Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189) routs the Taira. Kuniyoshi’s triptych draws from the kabuki play Benkei on the Boat, in which the returning victors are besieged in high seas by the ghosts of the defeated Taira, shown here as ghoulish silhouettes in the sky. Knowing that it is fruitless to fight spirits, Yoshitsune’s lieutenant, the warrior-monk Benkei, quells them by praying, and they melt into the sea.

Photo: Geoff Tesch

<<Previous | Continue >>