Minneapolis Institute of Art

Genzanmi Yorimasa and I no Hayata

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi; Publisher: Funazu Chūjirō

Date

October 1878

Medium

Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

These two different versions of the same design illustrate how publishers and artists made revisions in order to attract more customers. The version with a plain yellow background is the earlier one of the two. It is unclear at what point after the first release the color changes and addition of the dramatic cloud formations were undertaken or who demanded them. The scene illustrates a popular legend about the Nue monster that had terrorized the building in which the emperor slept until it was killed one night by the noted archer Genzanmi Yorimasa (Minamoto Yorimasa; 1106–1180) and I Hayata (dates unknown). Yoshitoshi portrays the two heroes looking up toward the monster—out of the print’s frame—which is typically depicted with the head of a monkey, body of a tiger, and tail of a snake. Japan, Asia

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