Woodblock Print by Ginko Adachi: Tiger & Warrior in Snow

A tiger with its teeth bared, a warrior with his sword up, and snow on every branch.

Tiger & Warrior in Snow is a woodblock print by Ginko Adachi, born 1853, from Japan, dated 1896, in ink on paper. Meiji period printmakers often turned to heroic tales of samurai, and a warrior facing down a tiger was a favored test of nerve. A striped tiger crouches at the left behind a snowy pine trunk, mouth open. The warrior lunges toward it in armor laced in dark blue, blade raised high. Gray sky, white ground and pale footprints set the scene, with Japanese text and a red seal at the right. It is 13.5 inches wide and 9.4 high.

The tiger has the better smile.