
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Kusunoki Masashige Holds the Castle at Chihaya
Utagawa Yoshitora; Publisher: Izumiya IchibeiLinkedCulture matchlcp-fc69dea65c7b
- Date
- 1849
- Medium
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
- Department
- Asian Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 142589
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
A mass of warriors lay siege on a castle as the defenders inside the castle pour boiling hot streams of water from above. In this printed triptych, Utagawa Yoshitora depicts the Siege of Akasaka (1331), in which samurai Kusunoki Masashige and his army of five hundred successfully defended the Akasaka Castle against the Kamakura forces of three hundred thousand soldiers. Kusunoki used canny methods, including drawing the enemy as close to the stone foundation as possible and then pouring scalding water over their heads. Kusunoki fought for the Emperor against the Kamakura shogunate, and after his death he became known as a legendary warrior who personified samurai virtues. Japan, Asia
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Gift of Gordon Brodfuehrer
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