By Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga
Japan, published 1847-1853

Depicting Nitta Tadatsune slaying a giant boar, which has already been hit by several arrows, during the grand hunting event Fuji no Makigari arranged by shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1193 at the foot of Mount Fuji. The scene is quite chaotic, with fleeing animals chased by mounted archers and the shogun’s gokenin (retainers) with their beaters, all amid gnarled pine trees. Signed ICHIYUSAI KUNIYOSHI, with double nanushi censor seals. The print was published by Joshuya Kinzo between 1847 and 1853. Matted and framed.

OBAN 36.2 x 24.6 cm (each print)

Condition: Good condition, color, and impression. Minor soiling and creasing.
Provenance: From a Canadian private collection. The reverse with a handwritten note.

Nitta Tadatsune (1167-1203) was a samurai lord and retainer of the Kamakura shogunate in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. He served as a close retainer to shoguns Minamoto no Yoritomo and Yoriie. In June 1193, during the grand hunting event, Fuji no Makigari, held by shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, Tadatsune acted as an archer for Yoritomo.

Fuji no Makigari was held from June 8 to July 7, 1193, for about a month. Including the samurai's beaters, a total of 700,000 participated in the hunting event, and the historical chronicle of Azuma Kagami describes the scale of the event stating, "Such a crowd of archers that there is no point measuring." One of the processions in the Yokkaichi Festival, held in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, is the Fuji no Makigari procession. It can be seen in the An'ei era (1772-1781), and it is also written about in the diary of the painter Shiba Kokan in 1788, as "see the procession of Fuji no Makigari." Children dressed as samurai wearing resplendent costumes shoot at a 4-meter-long papier-mâché wild boar, in reference to several legends surrounding Nitta Tadatsune slaying a giant wild boar, as depicted in the present triptych.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. The range of Kuniyoshi's subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of legendary samurai heroes. Kuniyoshi's work is held in the permanent collections of many museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Nasher Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Van Gogh Museum.

Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related triptych woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, depicting Doji Yoshiharu overthrowing a giant boar in the forest, at Christie’s, 22 June 2017, London, lot 112 (sold for 2,000 GBP).