UTAGAWA YOSHIFUSA. The Ghost of Akugenta Taking Revenge on Nanba at the Nunobiki Waterfall

UTAGAWA YOSHIFUSA (active 1837-1860)

The Ghost of Akugenta Taking Revenge on Nanba at the Nunobiki Waterfall

The Ghost of Akugenta Taking Revenge on Nanba at the Nunobiki Waterfall. Artist: Utagawa Yoshifusa (Japanese, active 1837-1860). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Oban tate-e; triptych (right): 14 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (36.8 x 24.8 cm) (middle): 10 3/8 x 9 3/4 in. (26.4 x 24.8 cm) (left): 14 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (36.8 x 24.8 cm). Date: 1856, 2nd month. This triptych of prints features the ghost of the warrior Akugenta Yoshihira (1141-1160) taking revenge on his murderer Nanba Jiro, a tale based on the Tale of Heiji. The dramatic story is illustrated over three prints. Akugenta causes lightening to strike his murderer Nanba at the center of the composition, and also shoots flames at his enemy Taira no Kiyomori, who confronts Akugenta on the right. The landscape background is treated in ink monochrome, while Nunobiki waterfall is highlighted in blue against the darkness. Yoshifusa, a pupil of Kuniyoshi and a colleague of Yoshitoshi, continued the Utagawa school's dramatic and bombastic presentations of warrior stories.

Triptych of polychrome woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Edo period (1615-1868)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Model: No - Property: No
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4781 x 2383 px | 32.6 MB

40.5 x 20.2 cm | 15.9 x 7.9 in (300 dpi)