YOSHIKAZU – The Great Battle of Awazu – Kiso Yoshinaka's...

** A complete 1853 warrior triptych by Utagawa Yoshikazu, pupil of Kuniyoshi, showing the Battle of Awazu, where Kiso Yoshinaka, the Minamoto general who had driven the Taira from Kyoto, met his end. A major international dealer described this design as the first time they had seen it.. ** Artist: Utagawa Yoshikazu (歌川芳員), active c. 1848–1870 Title: Awazu ōkassen (粟津大合戦) – "The Great Battle of Awazu" Inscription: Juei sannen shōgatsu hatsuka (寿永三年正月廿日) – "20th day of the 1st month, Juei 3" (early 1184) Named figures (from the cartouches): Centre: Kiso no Kanja Yoshinaka (木曾冠者義仲) Left: Imai Shirō Kanehira (今井四郎兼平) Right: Kaba no Mikawa-no-kami Noriyori (蒲三河守範頼) and Okabe Rokuyata Tadazumi (岡部六弥太忠澄) Further warriors of both sides are named throughout. Date: 1853 (Kaei 6, year of the ox) Technique: Woodblock print (mokuhanga), nishiki-e (polychrome) Format: Ōban tate-e triptych (三枚続), three sheets, each approx. 37*25cm Signature: Issensai Yoshikazu ga (一寿斎芳員画) on each sheet CONDITION Impression & Colours: The colours are present and well preserved and the impression presents well. Paper: The paper is clean and supple, with some soiling and toning consistent with age. There is a minor ink transfer on the centre sheet. Minor binding holes. A good example of this rare design. The Story: The Fall of the Rising Sun General Minamoto no Yoshinaka, raised in the Kiso mountains and known as Kiso Yoshinaka, was the first Minamoto commander to break Taira power. In 1183 he swept them out of Kyoto and was given the title Asahi Shōgun, the "Rising Sun General." His success was short. His troops' behaviour in the capital and his clashes with the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa turned the court against him. His cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo sent his brothers Noriyori and Yoshitsune west to destroy him. Early in 1184 Yoshinaka was defeated at the Uji River and fled east toward Awazu, on the shore of Lake Biwa near Ōtsu. According to the Tale of the Heike, his horse sank into a frozen rice paddy at dusk. As he turned in the saddle to look back for his foster brother Imai Kanehira, he was struck in the face by an arrow and killed. When Kanehira saw that his lord had fallen, he put the point of his sword in his mouth and threw himself from his horse. This is one of the most famous deaths in Japanese literature. The design, as described for this composition, shows Yoshinaka galloping across the muddy paddies, his horse spattered with mud, driving an enemy back with his spear, with a large pine framing the scene and mountains beyond. Imai Kanehira is identified by cartouche on the left sheet. On the right are men of the pursuing Kamakura army, including Noriyori, Yoritomo's brother and one of the two commanders sent against Yoshinaka.

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