COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
AIC_.1939.777
amicoid
AIC_.1939.777
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:
Taira no Atsumori riding a horse into the sea
otn
Taira no Atsumori riding a horse into the sea
Title
false
Title Type:
preferred
ott
preferred
Title Type
false
View:
full view
rid
full view
View
false
Creation Date:
1770
oct
1770
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1770
ocs
1770
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1770
oce
1770
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; 24.8 x 19.6 cm
met
Chu?ban; 24.8 x 19.6 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:
1939.777
ooa
1939.777
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
The Art Institute of Chicago, Frederick W. Gookin Collection
ooc
The Art Institute of Chicago, Frederick W. Gookin Collection
Credit Line
false
Inscriptions:
SIGNATURE: Katsukawa Shunsho zu
oin
SIGNATURE: Katsukawa Shunsho zu
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:
One of the most famous and affecting episodes in the medieval war tale Heike Monogatari tells of the death of Taira no Atsumori, a handsome and innocent young nobleman, at the hands of the Minamoto warrior Kumagai no Jiro Naozane during the battle of Ichinotani in 1184. Realizing that the battle was lost, Atsumori was spurring his horse into the sea toward the safety of the Taira ships, when Kumagai's challenge from the shore forced him, in honor, to turn back. Only when Atsumori lay helmetless and helpless on the ground did Kumagai realize that he held at mercy a mere lad of sixteen or seventeen- no older than his own son Naoie. His instant impulse to spare the boy was foiled by the appearance of other Minamoto troops, who would have killed him without a moment's hesitation or remorse. Nearly paralyzed by grief, and promising to pray for Atsumori's soul, Kumagai struck off Atsumori's head, then wept frantically. Compounding the tragedy, the grief-stricken Kumagai then discovered an antique flute in a brocade bag tucked into Atsumori's sash, and realized that this was the youth who had enchanted both camps with his flute playing at dawn, before the battle.The episode poignantly symbolizes the overthrow of the cultivated nobility of Kyoto by the rough warriors of the provinces. Though one of those same rude warriors, Kumagai himself reflects, 'Among the hundred thousand warriors on our side, there is no one who has carried with him a flute to the battlefield. What a gentle life these nobles and courtiers have led!'Shunsho depicts the moment when Atsumori turns his horse in response to Kumagai's challenge from the shore- a scene he also drew in pillar print (hashira-e) format. The cloth (horo) billowing from Atsumori's shoulders provided some protection against arrows. The placement of the signature on the far right, Atsumori's gaze out of the picture toward the left, and the small waves entering the composition from the left all suggest that this may be the right-hand sheet of a diptych whose other sheetmust have shown Kumagai on horseback on the beach. Another single-sheet chu?ban print by Shunsho depicts the moment when Kumagai has wrestled Atsumori to the ground, pulled off his helmet, and realized with horror that his opponent is just a boy (see 'TheActor's Image' catalogue, fig. 52.1, p.156).Though warrior prints by all leading ukiyo-e artists were in vogue about 1770, the particularly large number of designs showing Atsumori and Kumagai may relate in some way to the performance of a well-receivedKabuki play on the theme of the battle of Ichinotani, Ichinotani Futaba Gunki (Young Sprigs of Ichinotani: A War Tale), at the Ichimura Theater in the sixth (or eighth?) month of 1770.
cxd
One of the most famous and affecting episodes in the medieval war tale Heike Monogatari tells of the death of Taira no Atsumori, a handsome and innocent young nobleman, at the hands of the Minamoto warrior Kumagai no Jiro Naozane during the battle of Ichinotani in 1184. Realizing that the battle was lost, Atsumori was spurring his horse into the sea toward the safety of the Taira ships, when Kumagai's challenge from the shore forced him, in honor, to turn back. Only when Atsumori lay helmetless and helpless on the ground did Kumagai realize that he held at mercy a mere lad of sixteen or seventeen- no older than his own son Naoie. His instant impulse to spare the boy was foiled by the appearance of other Minamoto troops, who would have killed him without a moment's hesitation or remorse. Nearly paralyzed by grief, and promising to pray for Atsumori's soul, Kumagai struck off Atsumori's head, then wept frantically. Compounding the tragedy, the grief-stricken Kumagai then discovered an antique flute in a brocade bag tucked into Atsumori's sash, and realized that this was the youth who had enchanted both camps with his flute playing at dawn, before the battle.The episode poignantly symbolizes the overthrow of the cultivated nobility of Kyoto by the rough warriors of the provinces. Though one of those same rude warriors, Kumagai himself reflects, 'Among the hundred thousand warriors on our side, there is no one who has carried with him a flute to the battlefield. What a gentle life these nobles and courtiers have led!'Shunsho depicts the moment when Atsumori turns his horse in response to Kumagai's challenge from the shore- a scene he also drew in pillar print (hashira-e) format. The cloth (horo) billowing from Atsumori's shoulders provided some protection against arrows. The placement of the signature on the far right, Atsumori's gaze out of the picture toward the left, and the small waves entering the composition from the left all suggest that this may be the right-hand sheet of a diptych whose other sheetmust have shown Kumagai on horseback on the beach. Another single-sheet chu?ban print by Shunsho depicts the moment when Kumagai has wrestled Atsumori to the ground, pulled off his helmet, and realized with horror that his opponent is just a boy (see 'TheActor's Image' catalogue, fig. 52.1, p.156).Though warrior prints by all leading ukiyo-e artists were in vogue about 1770, the particularly large number of designs showing Atsumori and Kumagai may relate in some way to the performance of a well-receivedKabuki play on the theme of the battle of Ichinotani, Ichinotani Futaba Gunki (Young Sprigs of Ichinotani: A War Tale), at the Ichimura Theater in the sixth (or eighth?) month of 1770.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
AIC_.E19676.TIF
ril
AIC_.E19676.TIF
Related Image Identifier Link
false