Archer Yoshiie at Nakoso barrier
I celebrated my 26th birthday a little over a week ago, and as a gift to myself I spent a few weekends brwosing the Japanese Gallery Angel’s selection of prints, eventually purchasing the subject of this blog.
The Print
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Title | Archer Yoshiie and Cherry Blossoms |
| Artist | Toshida Migita (1862 - 1925) |
| First Publication Date | 1893? |
| Publication Date | 1898 |
Research on the Print
The print was only sold to me as “Archer Yoshiie and Cherry Blossoms”, however, with some searching, I think I’ve been able to pretty confidently identfy more details about the scene.
Firstly, Yoshiie (源 義家) was a samurai of the Minamoto clan, with the title of Most Valorous Warrior in the Land (天下第一武勇之士). As I understand it, he was a completely real person, whose fame has spawn numerous legends of dubious truth. The minamoto surname was an honourary one, bestowed upon knoble households by the emporer of Japan. The most notable role in Yoshiie’s career was in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North. This role, is perhaps best illustrated with the following map and description:
The Yamato Kingdom was an area of Japan rules by a group of noble families from roughly 200AD to roughly 600AD. The Emishi were any peoples who inhabited the areas North of Yamato. In the modern day and age, Ainu people are talked about as the original inhabitants of Hokkaido (the north island of Japan), and I believe there is some relationship between 20th century Ainu, and 200AD Emishi, but I’m afraid I don’t know that much more.
This is all related to Yoshiie’s military title though. “Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North” is refering to his duties to defend the kingdom of Yamato from northern invasions from the Emishi.
To bring this back to my research on the print, I noticed a good number of art pieces with Yoshiie as the subject which looked similar to mine. See below:
It appears that the gate in the print is the Nakoso (勿来, “Do not come here”) barrier. It was erected as a divider between the lands of Yamato and Emishi. The lands north of the were a terrifying place for Japanese of the time, however, the images depicted in all of the scene in this blog are an illustration of the following poem Yoshiie composed while at the gate:
How I wish to forbid the blowing wind,
At the Barrier of Nakoso, the ‘forbidding’ gate.
But the mountain cherry blossoms are falling,
Filling the rord, to narrow down the pass.
This is taken from this blog post, which cites The Founding of the Nation.
In this poem we see the beauty of the cherry blossoms easing Yoshiie and his retainer’s troubles around their dreaded journey to the north. Each of the prints above, including mine clearly depicts the three key elements of the scene. Yoshii on horseback, the barrier, and the hope-bringing sakura.
Close-ups
I like showing off up close shots of these prints. I think while I enjoy the overal composition of the print, and the colours used (especially the green of the hill), the carving skill is mesmerising to me.
Looking at Yoshiie’s armour, although I’m not the biggest fan of highly saturated dyes used in lots of Meji period prints, I think these colours just feel correct for such official armour. The gold trimmings give a great highlight, and the wave pattern on the base layer emits prestige.
The details of his face, and it’s expression, are also delightful to me. I find there’s something about faces around this era that are more realistic to many of those from previous centuries. I suppose that might be to expected. There is a serenity and purpose in his face, fitting for a hero.
Below is Yoshiie’s horse. Not exactly a main character, but I quite like the flows of the mane, and the printing technique used on the horse’s fur. I’m not entirely sure why this technique has been used. It looks like bubble-wrap or honeycomb, but in reality, I have no idea if it’s anything other than another woodblock.
The two characters behind Yoshiie are, presumably, retainers of some sort. I may enjoy these two just as much as the great warrior Yoshiie himself, potentially even more.
The faces for the two have such great emotion in them. I feel like these two are turly independant people, thinking their own thoughts, but both following in the footsteps of their master’s horse.
Their atire and weapons are also fantastic, especially their naginata spear, yumi longbow and what appears to be ori-eboshi.
Above and below are referneces for some of the retainer’s gear.
I’m not 100% that the headgear is an ori-eboshi, however, it’s the best I could fine.
One the whole I love this prints composition, carving, colours and figures. Happy purchase for a happy birthday.
I may comment on it’s condition defects at some point. But not right now.