Yoritomo hata-age Yamaki no yakata youchi no zu (The Night Attack on the Yamaki Mansion, When Yoritomo First Raised His Banner)
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Yoritomo hata-age Yamaki no yakata youchi no zu (The Night Attack on the Yamaki Mansion, When Yoritomo First Raised His Banner), 1854, 8th month, color woodblock print on paper; oban nishiki-e; triptych, Gift of Dennis W. Lee, public domain, 2012.90.1a-c
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- Title
Yoritomo hata-age Yamaki no yakata youchi no zu (The Night Attack on the Yamaki Mansion, When Yoritomo First Raised His Banner)
- Related Titles
original language: 頼朝旗起八牧館夜討図
translated: The Night Attack on the Yamaki Mansion, When Yoritomo First Raised His Banner
transliterated: Yoritomo hata-age Yamaki no yakata youchi no zu
- Artist
- Related People
publisher: Yamamotoya Heikichi (Japanese, active ca. 1812-1886)
- Date
1854, 8th month
- Period
Japan: Edo period (1615-1868)
- Medium
color woodblock print on paper; oban nishiki-e; triptych
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
(A) image: 17 7/8 in x 9 3/4 in; sheet: 14 1/4 in x 9 3/4 in; (B) image: 17 7/8 in x 9 3/4 in; sheet: 14 1/4 in x 9 3/4 in; (C) image: 17 7/8 in x 9 3/4 in; sheet: 14 3/8 in x 9 3/4 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
artist's seal: [paulownia crest], printed in red intaglio within rectangular cartouche, lower right of right and left sheets; lower left of center sheet Translation: [seal of the artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳]
title: 頼朝旗起 / 八牧館夜討図, printed in black ink within rectangular cartouche on red ground, upper right of right sheet Transliteration (Translation): Yoritomo hata-age Yamaki no yakata youchi no zu (The Night Attack on the Yamaki Mansion, When Yoritomo First Raised His Banner) Language: Japanese
publisher's mark: 久 [under crossed sickles motif], printed in black ink, lower right of right and left sheets; lower left of center sheet Transliteration (Translation): Kyū ([seal of the publisher Yamamoto Heikichi 山本屋平吉]) Language: Japanese Description: Edo publisher, firm Eikyūdō 栄久堂 active ca. 1812-86.
date seal: 寅八, printed in black relief within oval cartouche on reserve ground, lower right of right and left sheets; lower left of center sheet Transliteration (Translation): tora hachi (tiger 8 (1854, 8th month)) Language: Japanese
censor's mark: 改, printed in black relief within circular cartouche on reserve ground, lower right of right and left sheets; lower left of center sheet Transliteration (Translation): aratame (inspected) Language: Japanese
signature: 一勇斎國芳画, printed in black ink within two rectangular cartouches on yellow and red grounds, lower right of right and left sheets; lower left of center sheet Transliteration (Translation): Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga (picture [by] Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi) Language: Japanese
- Collection Area
Asian Art; Graphic Arts
- Category
Prints
Japanese Traditional Prints
- Object Type
relief print
- Culture
Japanese
- Credit Line
Gift of Dennis W. Lee
- Accession Number
2012.90.1a-c
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
The first round of warfare between Minamoto and Taira forces, in 1150, ended in total defeat for the Minamoto. Yoritomo, the young son of the Minamoto general, was spared the death penalty and sent into exile in eastern Japan. As he grew to manhood, he won the loyalty of the local samurai, and in 1180 he issued a call to arms. His first successful military venture was a night attack on Yamaki Castle, a Taira estate, that same year. Here Kuniyoshi captures the chaos of the opening salvo in a civil war that would last five years.
