Katsukawa Shuntei (1770 1820) Lord Shigetada’s Bear Hunt, 1810's. Oban.
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A fine and important early warrior print from a rare artist, Katsukawa Shuntei. In some respects, it is right that Kuniyoshi should be remembered for the single sheet warrior print - a genre that he made his own in the nineteenth century. Kuniyoshi published The 108 Heroes of the Popular Suikoden in 1827; possibly his finest and most important series, these prints burst onto the woodblock scene with their bold colours, exotic settings and richly decorated surfaces. Kuniyoshi pictured the heroes as having superhuman strength, being richly tattooed and engaging with supernatural creatures. There were precedents to this seemingly revolutionary set. Kunisada was already producing single sheet warrior prints in the early 1820’s and more influentially, so did Shuntei, as this very fine early warrior sheet demonstrates.
This original woodblock print depicts Hatakeyama Shoji Shigetada, a samurai warlord who fought in the Genpei Wars in the late Heian period, switching sides from the Taira to the Minamoto for the Battle of Dan-no-Ura, thereby ending the war on the winning side. It shows the samurai tackling a gigantic black bear and killing it with his sword. The print is pretty much unknown, and there is scant information on the subject matter.
These early warrior prints are important. They predict a trend that was to dominate the nineteenth century woodblock scene and was relief from the kabuki actor portraits that came to dominate the mid-century.
There are a few losses to the top right of the print but otherwise the condition, colour and impression are fine. The print is backed on antique Japanese paper that has writing on it.
32.5 x 23 cm
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