Description
Shitenno (四天王) is a term referring to the “Four Heavenly Kings”, the guardian gods of the cardinal points. But in feudal Japan it was also used to indicate the most popular or most loyal groups of samurai. In this precious woodblock print, we see the famous general Minamoto no Yoshitsune (源義経), depicted at the top, in the company of his four most valiant samurai Shitenno: Ise Saburo Yoshimori (伊勢三郎義盛), Kamei Rokuro Shigekiyo (亀井六郎重清), Kataoka Hachiro Tsuneharu (片岡八郎常春) and Suruga Jiro Kiyoshige (駿河次郎清重).
The work, printed in 1864 by the publisher Joshuya Kinzo (上州屋金蔵), is titled “The Governor of Iyo Yoshitsune Ason” (伊豫守義経朝臣) and is taken from the series “Mirror of Famous Generals with Their Four Leading Retainers” (名将四天鑑) by the artist Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川芳虎).
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, is in very good general condition.
