Sagami Jiro Taira Masakado taken by an arrow from Yoshitoshi’s Courageous Warriors c. Original circa 188 3 Japanese Woodblock Print by Yoshitoshi, guaranteed! A masterpiece of action and color, this image moves beyond the two-dimensional space. Unarguably the best design of the series. The daimyo Sagami Jiro Taira Masakado started a rebellion against the Fujiwara shogunate in 930 A. However, his rebellion was short-lived. He was eventually killed by an arrow launched by shoguns famed archer Fujiwara Hidesato. In this dynamic scene, Sagami JiroTaira Masakado riding his horse is trampling a samurai while unbeknownst to him an arrow is about to take his life. His horse literally jumps out of the page. The sense of frozen action is masterfully conveyed. The horse and fallen samurai are suspended in mid-air with broken pieces of sword flying in different directions. The fatal arrow pierces the scene across the series cartouche just inches away from striking! This print is from the very first printing of this series. Mica dust is applied to the black sky. Dark and fine gradation of color creates a moody and dark scene. Even the horses body exhibits attention to color range by delineating muscles. The Daimyos black jacket is burnished and shines. It measures 13 ¾ x 9 ½ inches. It is in great condition with very slight stains. It is slightly trimmed. The dark line extending upward at the bottom is part of printing process for this image. It is there in other prints with this image including one in the Tokyo National Museum collection. The item “Original YOSHITOSHI Japanese Woodblock Print Courageous Warriors Sagami Jiro” is in sale since Wednesday, October 10, 2018. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Prints”. The seller is “greatartstuff” and is located in San Francisco, California. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Primary Material: Paper
- Original/Reproduction: Antique Original
