Sasaki Shiro Takatsuna on Iketsuki

Artist Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese, 1726?–1792)

Dateabout 1773

Mediumwoodblock print with ink and color on paper

Dimensions26.3 x 19 cm (chuban)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Object number1901.291

Label TextTo defend themselves Yoshinaka's troops destroyed bridges and entrenched themselves behind the Uji River outside Kyoto. The river had flooded as the snow of the mountains was melting in late February 1184. Two rival warriors volunteered to cross the wide, swift current and Yoshitsune lent them powerful horses. Sasaki Takatsuna, identified by his 'four-eye crest' (shi-tsume), was to ride the large, wild Iketsuki, "Natural Biter." Kajiwara Kagesue, identified by his crest of two hawk feather arrow ends (taka-no-ha), would ride the stout, black Surusumi, "Inkstick" [left and right]. The mid-nineteenth century artist Kuniyoshi, who feared government-censorship prohibiting the depiction of many famous heroes, used a substitute crest for Takatsuna [center] and blurred that of Kagesue. The two warriors set oProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

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