Scene from the Battle of Yashima

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Scene from the Battle of Yashima

Sumiyoshi school

Japanese

ca. mid-17th century

This is the scene of a battle fought between two rival warrior families in 1185: the Taira (Heike) hoisting their red banners and the Minamoto (Genji), waving their white banners. The tightly knit formation of the mounted Minamoto warriors predicts their victory over the Taira who have retreated in scattered boats. The scene is an illustration from The Tale of the Heike: Sato Tsuginobu shot by an arrow, is shown plummeting head first off his horse. Minamoto Yoshitsune, the heroic general who was his master, commissioned sutra-copying for the salvation of the soul of his dying servant. The central theme of the painting is the concept of bushido--the way of the samurai--that emphasized loyalty between lord and retainer, derived in part from Confucian ethics in the seventeenth century, when this screen was painted.

ARTstor

image

http://search.openlibrary.artstor.org/object/AYALEARTIG_10312578146

ca. mid-17th century

ARTstor