19th century
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Image: 13 3/4 × 9 5/8 in. (34.9 × 24.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914
Accession Number
JP212.87
Tags
Art Historical Context
This woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi captures the dynamic spirit of 19th-century Japanese ukiyo-e art during the late Edo period. Kuniyoshi, a master of the Utagawa school, specialized in vivid scenes of warriors and heroes, often drawing from history, legend, and kabuki theater. Created with ink and color on paper through the collaborative woodblock process—where artists, carvers, and printers worked together—such prints were affordable and widely circulated, bringing dramatic imagery into everyday households. The work’s focus on men with swords reflects the enduring cultural fascinatio...
About the Artist
Utagawa Kuniyoshi · 1797–1861
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) was born in Edo to the silk-dyer Yanagiya Kichiyemon, originally bearing the childhood name Yoshisaburō. From a young age, he assisted in his family's pattern design work, which sharpened his innate mastery of color and textile motifs that would permeate his later prints. At around twelve years old, his prodigious drawing skills drew the attention of the renowned Utag...