Shunkōsai Hokushū (春好斎北洲) (artist ca 1808 – 1832)
Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as Ishikawa Goemon (石川五右衛門) at The Battle of Okehazama (Okehazama Gassen - 桶狭間合戦)
07/1826
9.875 in x 14.875 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese woodblock print
Signed: Shunkōsai Hokushū ga
春好斎北洲画
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - their copy is dated to 4/1826
Philadelphia Museum of Art - also dated to 1826
Hankyu Culture Foundation - dated 7/1826
Kamigata Osaka Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Lyon Collection - 1826 Yoshikuni print of Utaemon III as Goemon in the same play
Royal Museums of Art and History, Belgium (via Cultural Japan)
Náprstek Museum
Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen (Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Leiden) via Ritsumeikan University
Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum - a second entry at this site
Tōken (東建) Corporation
Metropolitan Museum of Art - without the actor's name or his role What was the Battle of Okehazama?
Chris Glenn wrote for Japantravel.com in November 2011:
"On the outskirts of Nagoya City, 2,500 samurai trounced an army of 35,000 in what became known as the Battle of Okehazama.
It was one of Oda Nobunaga’s finest victories, defeating a fierce adversary at odds of twelve to one!
Visiting the battle site is a great way to soak up Japanese history, particularly as this was one of the important turning points in Japanese history. The site of the actual battle and the surrounding walking route tracing the Oda soldiers’ approach to the battlefield is a little difficult to find, more so as the “official” battle site and memorials are in the wrong place! (Please note, The Japan Tourist map shows the actual battle site) First of all though, here’s a rundown of the battle.
Imagawa Yoshimoto [今川 義元], (1519-1560) a powerful warlord, based in what is now Shizuoka Prefecture, had become powerful enough to make an attempt on the capital, Kyoto. To do so required steamrolling across the provinces, one of which was held by the Oda clan under the rule of it’s violent and charismatic leader, Oda Nobunaga. Imagawa took the vitally important Tokaido main artery route, entering Nobunaga’s territory early June 1560, with an army estimated to have been about 35,000 and camped just outside of modern day Nagoya in an area known as Dengaku-hazama, near the village of Okehazama.
Nobunaga, on the other hand could only raise 2,500. He had left his castle at Kiyosu and traveled via the Atsuta Shrine where he prayed for victory before arriving at the Zenshoji, a fortress like temple overlooking the Imagawa forces camp site. Nobunaga ordered his men to set up war flags and banners around the Zenshoji to make it look as though there was a much larger army in residence. Undercover of some rainstorms he left the safety of the Zenshoji and made his way closer to the enemy.
June 22 1560 was a steaming hot day, interspersed with showers and thunderstorms. That’s when Nobunaga made his move. The Imagawa forces were celebrating their recent victories over a number of smaller Oda held castles with sake and food. The smaller number of Oda troops, familiar with their home territory turf, made their way down from the slopes and hills above Dengaku-hazama, and using the thunderstorm to mask their movements, entered the small valley and struck hard at the heart of the Imagawa camp..
Imagawa Yoshimoto was in his tent like war camp enclosure when he heard the first of the fighting. Thinking it was a drunken brawl amongst his closest men, he left the camp to investigate, and was surprised to see Oda troops bearing down on him. Imagawa fought off one attack by a spear wielding Oda samurai, cutting through the spear thrust at him, and into the man’s leg. He was then tackled by a second Oda samurai, who promptly took his head. Imagawa Yoshimoto was just 41 years old. The battle raged for a short while afterwards, but with their leader having been dispatched early, and all bar two of the senior officers killed, the remaining officers and men surrendered, and joined the Oda faction. Nobunaga’s 2,500 troops had defeated an army of 35,000!
The battlefield is now a park, with a recently unveiled statue of Oda Nobunaga and Imagawa Yoshimoto near where Imagawa is believed to have fallen. Much of the area has been overtaken by houses and a local supermarket shopping center. The Oda route is well signposted in Japanese and English and can be easily followed providing a better understanding and appreciation of the battle. Other signposts also point out related historical spots to visit, including the head mound, where enemy heads were mass buried, the Chofukuji Temple, where many more heads were interred, and the area where the battles were launched and fought.
The battle signified the end of the Imagawa clan, while Nobunaga went on to almost rule the nation before being assassinated in 1582. Every June events are held in the otherwise quiet hamlet of Okehazama to commemorate the battle fought between Oda Nobunaga and Imagawa Yoshimoto at odds of twelve to one. "
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Elena Varshavskaya also wrote of the Battle of Okehazama in her book The Heroes of the Grand Pacification: Taiheiki eiyū den, in the end notes on page 162: "Okehazama in Owari province gave its name to the decisive battle between Imagawa Yoshimoto and Oda Nobunaga though in fact it was fought at nearby Dengakuhazama. The combat occurred on the 19th day of the 5th month of the 3rd year of Eiroku era (25/06/1560). The campaign started favourably for Yoshimoto who took two forts - Washizu and Marune. Yoshimoto's army was resting in the gorge of Dengakuhazama, chosen for his camp by Yoshimoto himself who was very familiar with the terrain. This choice turned out to be a fatal mistake. On that day it was raining heavily, and concealed by the rain Nobunaga approached the encampment and attacked it. Unable to react promptly and also bound by the confined space of the gorge, Yoshimoto's army was instantly routed."
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Illustrated:
1) In black and white in Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in European Collections: Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels, vol. 9, Kodansha, 1989, p. 205, #131.
2) In Catalogue of Japanese Art in the Náprstek Museum published by The International Research Center for Japanese Studies: Nichibunken Japanese Studies Series 4, 1994, p. 142.
3) In a black and white reproduction of this image in "Historical Eras in Ukiyo-e" by Richard Lane in Ukiyo-e Studies and Pleasures, Society for Japanese Arts and Crafts, the Hague, 1978, #47, p. 49.
Lane notes that their were two printings of this print. One in 1822 and another four years later in 1826.
4) In color in 原色浮世絵大百科事典 (Genshoku Ukiyoe Daihyakka Jiten), vol. 9, p. 106, #245.
5) In color Ukiyoe Museums in Japan (Nihon no ukiyoe bijutsukan - 日本の浮世絵美術館), vol. 5, p. 148. This example is from the collection of the Ikeda Bunko Library.
6) In a full-page, black and white reproduction in The Art of Japanese Prints by Richard Illing, 1980, p. 144.
7) In black and white in The Legacy of Japanese Printmaking/Le Rayonnement de l'estampe Japonaise by Barry Till, the Art Gallery of Victoria, 1986, pl. #36. [There are two Hokushū prints listed in this catalogue as #36.]
8) In color in Schätze der Kamigata: Japanische Farbholzschnitte aus Osaka 1780-1880, MNHA (Musée national d'histoire et d'art Luxembourg), 2012, p. 36, #46. The catalog entry says: "Dieses seltene Brustbild des legendären Banditen und Rebellen Goemon, ein Intemfeind des Taiko Mashiba Hisayoshi, gilt allgemein als ein Höhepunkt der in der frühren Epoche der Osakaholzschnitte beliebten Okubie (wörtlich Kopfbilder), Goemon gelangt, verkleidet als kaiserlicher Bote, in den Palast des Hisayoshi, um diesen zu töten und so den Tod seines Vaters zu rächen."
Google translates this as: "This rare bust of the legendary bandit and rebel Goemon, a sworn enemy of Taiko Mashiba Hisayoshi, is generally regarded as a highlight of the okubie (literally head portraits) popular in the early Osaka era of woodcuts. Goemon, disguised as an imperial messenger, enters Hisayoshi's palace, to kill him and avenge his father's death."
9) In color in Ikeda bunko, Kamigata yakusha-e shūsei, vol. 1, 1997, #166, p. 61. (This example is dated 1826.) This image is used on the cover of volume 1 of this multi-volume set.
10) In black and white in Ōsaka Kagami 大阪鏡 by Jan van Doesburg, Huys den Esch, 1985, p. 34, #20
11) in a full-page, black and white illustration in The Theatrical Work of Osaka Prints Roger and Keiko Keyes, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1973, pp. 84-85, #22. Keyes wrote: "The career of the great bandit-hero, Ishikawa Goemon, was one of the standbys of the kabuki theater, and his figure appears in countless woodblock prints. In this scene, Goemon wears the robes of an Imperial Messenger, which he has stolen as a disguise to enter the palace of the warlord Hisayoshi. Goemon intends to murder Hisayoshi to avenge his own father's death, but is surrounded by his enemy's henchmen. He escapes by magic and continues his adventures."
"Hokushū's print, which may have been originally issued together with a series of bust portraits, was certainly reissued for a performance of a related play in 7/1826. In this play Goemon disguises himself as an Imperial Messenger to steal the Imperial Seal, which is necessary to his ambition of ruling Japan. At the crucial moment he is met and foiled by Konoshita Tōkichi, another name of his enemy Hisayoshi. The encounter is shown in an undivided chūban diptych by Shunshi one of the earliest Osaka prints in this format."
Keyes noted that this image of Utaemon III as Goemon in the play Kinmon Gosan no Kiri was to commemorate a production of 2/1822. It was reissued for a performance of Konoshitage Hazama Gassen in 1826.
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There is another copy of this print at Trinity College Art Collection in Hartford, Connecticut.
There is also a very interesting print from 1826 of this same actor in the same pose, but with a slightly different costume by Shunshi. Illustrated in Ikeda Bunko, Kamigata Yakusha-e Shusei, (Collected Kamigata Actor Prints) volume 2, Ikeda Bunko Library, Osaka, 1998, no. 228, p. 78.
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Kyōto-Osaka prints (kamigata-e - 上方絵) (genre)
Nakamura Utaemon III (三代目中村歌右衛門) (actor)
ōkubi-e (大首絵) (genre)