Heroic Stories of the Taiheiki - Few other Japanese woodblock printmakers ever matched Kuniyoshi's detail and artistry in the genre of warrior prints. Published between 1847 - 1850, Kuniyoshi's fantastic series, "Heroic Stories of the Taiheiki," or Grand Pacification, presents fifty full-length portraits of famous warriors involved in the closing period of the civil wars in 16th century Japan, just before unification of the country. These dramatic images show these leaders engaged in battle or posing in quieter moments. Kuniyoshi captures the unique aspects of each warrior, with texts above detailing their heroic careers. Due to the prohibition on depicting events from this historic time period, each portrait uses a slightly altered name, which would be easily recognizable to Edo era viewers. The samurai's real name is given in parentheses. These prints are a great opportunity to collect a part of Japanese history, dynamically documented by the leading master of warrior prints.

Artist - Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861)

Image Size - 13" x 9 5/8"

Condition - This print with excellent detail as shown. Large loss at edge, wormholes, repaired. Slight toning, soiling, and creasing, staining. Please see photos for details.