Minneapolis Institute of Art

Kusunoki Masashige Holds the Castle at Chihaya

Utagawa Yoshitora; Publisher: Izumiya Ichibei

Date

1849

Medium

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

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

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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