Two Brave Men Fight on the Roof of Hōryūkaku (Hōryūkaku ryūyū ugoku) 「芳涼閣両雄動」

Object Details

• Artist

  Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡芳年 (1839-1892)

• Publisher

  Hasegawa Tsunejiro 長谷川常治郎

• Label

  Warriors prepare for hand-to-hand combat on the precariously steep roof of a castle tower. The vertical diptych format of this print dramatically enhances the steep composition. The story depicted here comes from Takizawa Bakin's (1767-1848) lengthy masterpiece, The Story of the Eight "Dogs" of the Satomi Clan (Nanso Satomi Hakkenden; published serially 1814-42). At the end of the impending conflict illustrated here, the heroes lock in struggle, lose their footing, and fall into the river far below. But, in a typical twist of the plot of Bakin's narrative, the combatants survive their fall from the rooftop, discover that they are brothers, and the story continues.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection (September 15, 2002 to January 9, 2003)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  The Anne van Biema Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1880s

• Name

  Tsukioka, Yoshitoshi, Hasegawa, Tsunejiro

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Diptych, Wars, Art, Oban, Japanese Art, Anne van Biema collection, Heroes, Meiji era (1868 - 1912)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints