Description
Toranosuke Kiyomasa (虎之助清正), the famous daimyo belonging to the Kato clan (加藤氏), was one of the three senior commanders during the Japanese invasions of Korea that took place between 1592 and 1598. In this rare 19th century triptych we see him depicted, in the right panel riding his black horse, while he leads the troops assisted by the three samurai, from right to left, Kato Kiyobei (加藤清兵衛), Saito Tatsumoto (斉藤立本) and Kimura Matazo (木村又蔵).
The work, made in 1873 by the artist Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川芳虎) and produced by the publisher Gusokuya Kahei (具足屋嘉兵衛), is titled “The Invasion of Korea by Kato Toranosuke Kiyomasa and His Ten Tiger Warriors” (加藤虎之助清正 並十虎勇士 朝鮮征伐之図).
Despite the right signs of aging and the thinning in several points of the Japanese washi paper (和紙), the three woodblock prints appear in fair general conditions.
