Description
Tora Gozen (虎御前), sitting on a balcony, observes her beloved Soga no Juro Sukenari (曾我十郎祐成) who is going away on the back of his horse and is bidding farewell to her with a nod of his hat. The work, by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重), is considered a rather unusual subject for the famous landscape artist who, however, takes the opportunity to present a context of great scenic impact.
The woodblock print presented here was produced around 1845 by the publisher Ibaya Senzaburo (伊場屋仙三郎), owner of Dansendo (団仙堂), and is taken from the series “The Illustrated Tale of the Soga Brothers” (曽我物語図会), who after having waited eighteen years avenged, sacrificing their lives, their father’s death by killing Kudo Suketsune (工藤祐経), a retainer of the shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝).
The precious print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, including the presence of some tiny holes and a small restoration on the top, is in good general condition.
