A Battle in Mid-Stream
c. 1705/10
Medium
Hand-colored woodblock print; o-oban, tan-e
Dimensions
54.1 × 28.5 cm (21 1/4 × 11 1/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13671
Art Historical Context
In the early 18th century, during Japan's vibrant Edo period, Torii Kobu I (1664–1729) crafted *A Battle in Mid-Stream*, a dynamic hand-colored woodblock print around 1705–10. As a founding member of the Torii school Kiyonobu pioneered *yakusha-e*—prints depicting kabuki actors—and this o-oban (large-format) tan-e exemplifies his bold style. Measuring an impressive 54.1 × 28.5 cm, the print bursts with vivid reds and oranges from hand-applied pigments, a hallmark of tan-e that predated full-color nishiki-e prints. The scene captures a fierce mid-river clash, likely inspired by kabuki theater'...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonobu I · 1664–1729
Torii Kiyonobu I (1664–1729), born Shōbei in Osaka, was the second son of Torii Kiyomoto, a prominent kabuki actor specializing in onnagata roles and a painter of theater signboards. He studied painting under his father as well as Yoshida Hanbei and Hishikawa Moronobu, the pioneering ukiyo-e master whose figure styles profoundly shaped his early work. In 1687, at age twenty-four, Kiyonobu accompan...