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Scene of the Battle on the Rooftop of Horyukaku Pavillion, from The Satomi Clan and the Legend of the Eight Dog Warriors

Scene of the Battle on the Rooftop of Horyukaku Pavillion, from The Satomi Clan and the Legend of the Eight Dog Warriors

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Utagawa Kunisada II

Kunisada II was the student and son-in-law of Kunisada I. Although he never achieved the fame and stature of Kunisada I, he did receive a certain level of recognition for his designs based on the popular semihistorical novel The Satomi Clan and the Legend of the Eight Dog Warriors serialized by Takizawa Bakin between 1814 and 1842. This triptych shows the climactic battle scene between the forces of the two heroes Inuzuka Shino and Inukai Genpachi, both magically descended from a princess and a courageous dog. The scene takes place on the tiled roof of the Horyukaku Pavillion of Koga Castle. Kunisada’s composition is one of the most powerful treatments of the subject, which appears in the work of many fellow Utagawa-school artists including Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. The warriors are shown flying through the air in what appears to be a well-choreographed cinematic fight scene.
Artist
Utagawa Kunisada II
(Japanese, 1823 - 1880)
Title
Scene of the Battle on the Rooftop of Horyukaku Pavillion, from The Satomi Clan and the Legend of the Eight Dog Warriors
Date
1854
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
a: 363 x 247 mm; b: 368 x 250 mm; c: 363 x 246 mm Overall
Credit
John H. Van Vleck Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
2003.12a-c
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 190, no. 179
  • Deeming, Mary. "Japanese Prints: Images of the Floating World," London: Barry Davies Oriental Art, 1998. p. 90

  • Japanese Masterworks: Woodblock Prints from the Chazen Museum of Art Collection: Chazen Museum of Art, 5/6/2016–8/14/2016
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008

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