Description
Precious original woodblock print of the musha-e (武者絵) type, made in a period between 1811 and 1814 by the artist Katsukawa Shuntei (勝川春亭) and depicting, as we read in the inscriptions at the bottom right, the warrior Toyama Saemon Munemochi (遠山左衛門宗侍) during the battle of Kurosaki (黒崎合戦). The subject of the work is based on a popular series of kibyoshi (黄表紙) illustrated novels that began in the 1760s.
From a triptych of woodcuts made around 1780-1785 by Katsukawa Shunsho (勝川春章) we know that in the plot Munemochi, together with the hero Makino Arataro Masazumi (牧野荒太郎政澄), leads the attack on Kurosaki Castle (黒崎城), in the Chikuzen Province (筑前国), against Emoto Magoroku (柄本孫六) and Tanaka Yaheita (田中弥平太).
The rare print, produced by the publisher Yamaguchiya Tobei (山口屋藤兵衛), owner of Kinkodo (錦耕堂), despite the presence of small holes and restorations, is in good general condition.
