Woodblock Print Triptych by Yoshikazu: Battle Scene: Yoshitsune Attacked

Spears, banners and horses collide across three sheets, and somewhere in the middle a fire is burning.

Battle Scene: Yoshitsune Attacked is a woodblock print triptych by Yoshikazu, from Japan, made around 1845. It is ink on paper. Minamoto no Yoshitsune is among the most celebrated heroes of Japanese history, and his battles and final betrayal were favorite subjects for ukiyo-e artists. Armored warriors fight across a dark ground, their names printed in red cartouches beside them. Horsemen charge at the left, a warrior lunges with a spear at the center, and a black horse rears near a building at the right, where figures watch from a balcony. It is 29.1 inches wide and 13.6 high.

Not a quiet evening in the capital.