Parody of the tale of Nasu no Yoichi
date: label: Date
content: 1615-1868
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Kawamata Tsuneyuki 川又常行 (1676?-1741?)
notes: label: Label
content: In Heike monogatari, a long narrative account of the war between the Taira and Minamoto families in the late twelfth century, the warrior Nasu no Yoichi (flourished late 12th century), who fought on the side of the Minamoto, shot a single arrow into a fan held in place by Lady Tamamushi. His perfect shot from horseback began the Battle of Yashima in 1185. Here the tale is enacted in a modern setting from the time of the painting's creation. A well-dressed man aims an arrow at a fan held aloft by a young female shamisen musician. Two courtesans wearing lavish kimonos sit languidly beside their tobacco set on the veranda of an elite brothel. The artist uses mitate--a literary and artistic device in which unexpected parallels are drawn between dissimilar elements--in this painting that evokes a famous battle scene in the unlikely setting of the contemporary "floating world."
label: Provenance
content: Marquis Okubo Collection [1]
label: Provenance
content: To 1905
label: Provenance
content: H.M. Mayeda, to 1905 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1905 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from H.M. Mayeda, New York, in 1905 [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] According to Curatorial Remark 3 in the object record, a note from the Original Kakemono List states: "From the collection of Marquis Okubo."
label: Provenance
content: [2] See Original Kakemono List, L. 521, pg. 144, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Tales and Legends in Japanese Art (June 21, 2003 to January 4, 2004)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Fans (April 6, 1984 to October 18, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Fans (May 18, 1980 to October 13, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art—Paintings, Pottery (August 18, 1967 to September 20, 1971)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Marquis Okubo
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Hidemitsu Mayeda (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: pine tree
label: Topic
content: horse
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: fan
label: Topic
content: archery
label: Topic
content: shamisen
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: bow
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: kakemono
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1905.311
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink, color and gold on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 84.7 x 37.1 cm (33 3/8 x 14 5/8 in)