Taira no Tomomori, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and Suke no Tsubone, 1867 - Fantastic kabuki triptych featuring portraits of characters from the play "Ichinomori kujira no oyose." From left, the actors are Otani Tomoemon V as Shinchunagon Taira no Tomomori, Sawamura Tossho II as Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and Bando Hikosaburo V as Suke no Tsubone. Tomomori appears as a ghost, still bleeding from wounds inflicted during his defeat at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani at the hands of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He clings to the anchor with which he committed suicide by leaping into the sea with it, his wet hair spreading out wildly around his blue-tinged face. Yoshitsune stares at him out of the corner of his eyes, his lips tightly pressed together. He wears a fine vest over a suit of armor, a white sash tied around his forehead. At right, Suke no Tsubone, the nurse to the child emperor Antoku, looks at Yoshitsune with a sullen frown. The background is patterned with diagonal bands of bold, colorful patterns, creating a striking backdrop for the portrait insets. A terrific and rare early Yoshitoshi kabuki triptych.

Artist - Yoshitoshi (1839 - 1892)

Image Size - 14" x 28 1/4" + margins as shown

Condition - This print with nice color and detail as shown. Three separate panels. Small loss at edge, a few wormholes, repaired. Stain. Please see photos for details.