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Watanabe Tsuna Cutting Off the Demon's Arm at Rashomon Gate

Watanabe Tsuna Cutting Off the Demon's Arm at Rashomon Gate

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Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Watanabe no Tsuna was one the most trusted retainers to the Genji clan general Minamoto no Yorimitsu. During the Heian period (794–1185) the people of Kyoto believed Rashomon Gate to be haunted by a demon. Frightened for their lives, they asked Yorimitsu for help. In response, he sent Tsuna to search for the demon. When attacked, Tsuna severed the demon’s arm and returned home with it. Yoshitoshi also designed a print from this story showing the moment when the demon reappeared to claim her severed arm, entitled Old Woman Retrieving Her Arm. In this vertical diptych, Yoshitoshi exploits the format to emphasize the large scale of the gate. Dramatic lines cut diagonally across the composition to represent the forceful winds that accompanied the demon’s appearance. As with many of Yoshitoshi’s designs, mica is used to add iridescence.
Artist
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
(Japanese, 1839 - 1892)
Title
Watanabe Tsuna Cutting Off the Demon's Arm at Rashomon Gate
Date
1888
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
727 x 247 mm Overall
Credit
John H. Van Vleck Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
2004.39a-b
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 216, no. 213
  • Chazen Museum of Art. "Three Directions: teamLab - Tenmyouya Hisashi - Ikeda Manabu." Madison: Chazen Museum of Art, 2014. p. 67, fig. 3

  • Garden of Unearthly Delights: Works by Ikeda, Tenmyouya & teamLab: Japan Society, 10/10/2014–1/11/2015
  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900 : Chazen Museum of Art, 3/21/2008–6/15/2008
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008

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