COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
AIC_.1967.642
amicoid
AIC_.1967.642
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Prints
oty
Prints
Object Type
false
Creator Name:
Katsukawa, Shunsho
crn
Katsukawa, Shunsho
Creator Name
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
crc
Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Dates/Places:
Japanese; 1726-1792 Asia,East Asia,Japan
cdt
Japanese; 1726-1792 Asia,East Asia,Japan
Creator Dates/Places
false
Creator Name-CRT:
Katsukawa Shunsho
crt
Katsukawa Shunsho
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
The warrior Watanabe no Tsuna fighting the demon at Rashomon
otn
The warrior Watanabe no Tsuna fighting the demon at Rashomon
Title
false
Title Type:
preferred
ott
preferred
Title Type
false
View:
full view
rid
full view
View
false
Creation Date:
c. 1770
oct
c. 1770
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1765
ocs
1765
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1775
oce
1775
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
Woodblock print.
omd
Woodblock print.
Materials and Techniques
false
Classification Term:
Woodblock
clt
Woodblock
Classification Term
false
Creation Place:
Asia,East Asia,Japan
ocp
Asia,East Asia,Japan
Creation Place
false
Dimensions:
Chu?ban; 28.0 x 21.3 cm
met
Chu?ban; 28.0 x 21.3 cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Art Institute of Chicago
oon
The Art Institute of Chicago
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
oop
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1967.642
ooa
1967.642
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold G. Henderson.
ooc
The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold G. Henderson.
Credit Line
false
Inscriptions:
SIGNATURE: Katsukawa Shunsho zuARTIST'S SEAL: Hayashi in jar-shaped outline
oin
SIGNATURE: Katsukawa Shunsho zuARTIST'S SEAL: Hayashi in jar-shaped outline
Inscriptions
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.artic.edu/aic/rights/main.rights.html"target="_new">http://www.artic.edu/aic/rights/main.rights.html</a>
Rights
false
Context:
As one of the valiant retainers of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (Raiko), the warrior Watanabe no Tsuna (953-1025) assisted in such legendary exploits as the subjugation of Shuten Doji, a hideous ogre who was terrorizing the Kyoto area. Watanabe no Tsuna's most famous single combat, however, was with a demon who appeared initially as a beautiful woman and waylaid him (depending on the version of the tale) either at Modoribashi (Modori Bridge) or Rashomon (Rasho Gate) in the imperial capital of Kyoto. The versionof the incident depicted here takes place at Rashomon- the great southern entrance to the city and frequent site of supernatural goings-on- and had first been dramatized in the fifteenth-century No play Rashomon.After an argument with Hirai Yasumasa as to whether or not a demon haunted the gate at night, Watanabe no Tsuna decides to settle the matter by visiting the spot in person. As he mounts the stone steps of the gateway to set up a warning signboard, he suddenly feels a grasp at his helmet. Drawing the famous sword Hige-kiri (Beard Cutter), given him by Yorimitsu, the warrior severs the demon's arm with a single slash, and the monster flies off with a terrible scream.The demon coiling round the gate pillar has been depicted by Shunsho with the traditional green skin, horns, and tigerskin garment. The cascades of black lines sweeping down from the top of the print serve both to suggest night and to heighten the sense of action, and the curious piece of brocade in the top left-hand corner may be an edge of the feminine costume shed by the demon as it pounces on Watanabe no Tsuna.Warrior subjects were a constant but minor genre within ukiyo-e during the eighteenth century, but about 1770 a rash of such prints appeared by leading artists such as Shunsho, Kitao Shigemasa (1739-1820), Isoda Kory?sai (act. ca. 176-1788), and Suzuki Harunobu (ca. 1724-1770, proving that the vogue began before Harunobu's death in 1770). Shunsho himself is known to have designed more than twenty warrior prints in the chu?ban format at this time. The reason for the sudden vogue is difficult to determine; perhaps artists were simply keen to explore the possibilities of the warrior print genre using the new full-color print technology.
cxd
As one of the valiant retainers of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (Raiko), the warrior Watanabe no Tsuna (953-1025) assisted in such legendary exploits as the subjugation of Shuten Doji, a hideous ogre who was terrorizing the Kyoto area. Watanabe no Tsuna's most famous single combat, however, was with a demon who appeared initially as a beautiful woman and waylaid him (depending on the version of the tale) either at Modoribashi (Modori Bridge) or Rashomon (Rasho Gate) in the imperial capital of Kyoto. The versionof the incident depicted here takes place at Rashomon- the great southern entrance to the city and frequent site of supernatural goings-on- and had first been dramatized in the fifteenth-century No play Rashomon.After an argument with Hirai Yasumasa as to whether or not a demon haunted the gate at night, Watanabe no Tsuna decides to settle the matter by visiting the spot in person. As he mounts the stone steps of the gateway to set up a warning signboard, he suddenly feels a grasp at his helmet. Drawing the famous sword Hige-kiri (Beard Cutter), given him by Yorimitsu, the warrior severs the demon's arm with a single slash, and the monster flies off with a terrible scream.The demon coiling round the gate pillar has been depicted by Shunsho with the traditional green skin, horns, and tigerskin garment. The cascades of black lines sweeping down from the top of the print serve both to suggest night and to heighten the sense of action, and the curious piece of brocade in the top left-hand corner may be an edge of the feminine costume shed by the demon as it pounces on Watanabe no Tsuna.Warrior subjects were a constant but minor genre within ukiyo-e during the eighteenth century, but about 1770 a rash of such prints appeared by leading artists such as Shunsho, Kitao Shigemasa (1739-1820), Isoda Kory?sai (act. ca. 176-1788), and Suzuki Harunobu (ca. 1724-1770, proving that the vogue began before Harunobu's death in 1770). Shunsho himself is known to have designed more than twenty warrior prints in the chu?ban format at this time. The reason for the sudden vogue is difficult to determine; perhaps artists were simply keen to explore the possibilities of the warrior print genre using the new full-color print technology.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
AIC_.E19675.TIF
ril
AIC_.E19675.TIF
Related Image Identifier Link
false