Minneapolis Institute of Art

Tokiwa-gozen fleeing in winter with her sons (from The Tale of Heiji)

Ogyū Tensen

Date

20th century

Medium

Two-panel folding screen, ink, color, mica and gold pigment on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Tokiwa-gozen (b. 1138) was the concubine to the military general Minamoto Yoshitomo (1123–1160). According to The Tale of Heiji, a historical epic based on the Heiji Rebellion of 1159–1160, Tokiwa fled with her three young children to Yamato province after her husband was murdered. However, she soon returned to Kyoto to plead for her mother, who had been captured by enemy forces. Struck by her beauty and determination, Taira Kiyomori (1118–1181) decided to show mercy to her and her children. Tokiwa’s tale of valor became a popular trope in Japanese painting and literature. The painter Ogyū Tensen was born into a family of Shintō priests but decided to pursue an artistic career when he was young. He studied with Hashimoto Gahō, a leading painter of Nihonga and entered the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Throughout his life, he won countless awards for his works, and even painted for the imperial court. He often conducted deep background research to paint historical scenes accurately. Asia

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