Label Text:
The twelfth-century warlord Minamoto no Yoshitsune is one of the most revered figures in all of Japanese history and folklore. A fearsome warrior who overthrew the Taira clan, Yoshitsune was later forced to commit seppuku (a ritualistic suicide) after his betrayal and defeat at the hands of the Fujiwara clan. In Japanese legend, however, it is believed that Yoshitsune fled in a boat to the remote northern island of Ezo; some accounts claim that he continued to sail to the Chinese mainland, where he reinvented himself as Genghis Khan. Depictions of an Ezo-bound Yoshitsune are widespread in Japanese prints, usually showing him and the warrior monk Benkei poised for battle. Using his trademark “cutaway” technique, Yamaguchi has here imagined the vessel as almost a pleasure boat: Yoshitsune sits at center being bathed while staff flit about cleaning his clothes, arranging his armor, and preparing fish for lunch.

Tags:
water; boats; warriors; interiors; exterior; domestic space; baths; cooking; humor; seas

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2017.24

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