Published 1892, Tadanobu (one of Yoshitsune’s men) wears the costume of Yoshitsune and fights against the priest, Yokogawa Kakuhan in Mt. Yoshinoyama belongs to Historical Triptychs. Gekkō’s historical triptychs revisited famous episodes from Japanese and East Asian history on the expansive three-sheet format. Produced during the Meiji period, they helped connect the modern nation to a selective visual memory of emperors, warriors, loyal retainers, and celebrated legends.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune became one of Japan’s most admired tragic warriors: a brilliant Genpei War commander later pursued by his brother, the shogun Yoritomo. The catalog identifies battle, landscape, men, samurai, and snow among the principal motifs. Gekkō uses their relationship to clarify action, season, setting, and narrative emphasis rather than treating them as interchangeable decoration.

The three-sheet format creates a broad visual field suited to simultaneous action, opposing forces, processions, or panoramic space; the joins between sheets also structure the narrative rhythm.

Additional information

Editions

First Edition

Publisher

Matsuki Heikichi

Size

Oban triptych

Subjects

battle, landscape, men, samurai, snow

Year Published

1892

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