Utagawa Sadahide (1807 - 1873) The Battle of Yashima, mid - 1840’s. Oban Triptych.
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What a great design this is… the waves here like interlaced locks of hair in a gale. It is a rare thing… no other copies seem to exist online or in the big museums. We must therefore decipher it as best we can. The most commonly depicted sea battle during the Edo period was the Battle of Dan-no-ura. The Battle of Yashima precedes that decisive sea battle and it is that which Sadahide pictures in this masterful triptych.
Yashima was one of the battles of the Genpei War, taking place on March 22, 1185. During this time there was a bloody power struggle between the Imperial Taira Clan (also known as the Heike) and their rivals, the Minamoto… one that was to decide the future of Japan for generations to come. Following a long string of defeats, the Taira clan retreated to Yashima. Here they had a fortress, and an improvised palace for Emperor Antoku and the imperial regalia, which they had taken earlier in the war.
The Taira were expecting a naval attack, and so Yoshitsune lit bonfires on Shikoku, essentially in their rear, fooling the Taira into believing that a large force was approaching on land. They abandoned their palace, and took to their ships, along with Emperor Antoku and the imperial regalia.
In a memorable account in the Heike monogatari, a "very beautiful lady" in a Heike (Taira) boat, placed a fan atop a pole, and dared the Minamoto to knock it off. In one of the most famous archery feats in all of Japanese history, Nasu no Yoichi rode out into the sea on horseback, and did just that in one shot. The Minamoto were victorious, but the majority of the Taira fleet escaped to Dan-no-ura, where they were defeated one month later in the Battle of Dan-no-ura.
In this print you can see the fan raised on the mast in the centre sheet, near to the top left of the page (top left in detailed picture in link). Nasu no Yoichi is on the left sheet, towards the upper centre, turning to the right to loose the arrow over his shoulder (right-hand side of detailed picture in link). The figures are tossed around on the violence of the waves — almost a paradigm of revolution and civil war. Here we see the literal destruction of the order of society. It is a paradigm also for the state of Tokugawa Japan in the mid nineteenth century: another revolution, another catharsis. All of the major artists of the period produced prints focussing on these two battles… Dan-no-ura and Yashima. They emblematise the birth of the long period of calm and isolation, and simultaneously the years leading to its utter destruction in 1864 with the Meiji revolution.
This is a stunning design, very rare and in good condition. The three sheets are unattached, unbacked and with only one or two minor paper repairs. Colour and condition then, are very good. The impression is good.
75 x 36 cm.
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