Description
Important triptych of woodblock prints produced, in a period between 1847 and 1852, by the publisher Aritaya Seiemon (有田屋清右衛門), owner of Yueido (有永堂). The work is entitled “The Brave Warrior Samanosuke Destroys the Enemy Castle of Atsumi by Bombardment” (勇士左馬之助充未敵城を石弩火鉄にて打崩す図) and is signed “Ichimosai Yoshitora ga” (一猛斎芳虎画), that is by the artist Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川芳虎).
The “Castle of Atsumi” is a fictitious name that the artist used to circumvent the censorship, which prohibited explicit references to the events concerning the Tokugawa (徳川) or the daimyo (大名) and which had occurred from the Tensho (天正) era. The circumstance depicted is, in fact, that of the attack led by Akechi Hidemitsu (明智秀満), a samurai in the service of Akechi Mitsuhide (明智光秀), on Azuchi Castle (安土城), residence of the Oda clan (織田氏), following the famous Honno-ji Incident (本能寺の変).
The prints, despite the signs of aging of the washi paper (和紙) and the presence of slight stains, tiny holes and small restorations, are in fair general condition.
