Depicted here is the presentation of the severed head of Kimura Shigenari by Ii Naotaka (left) to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (right) following the Battle of Wakae during the summer siege of Osaka castle (1615). The presentation of Kimura's severed head relieved Naotaka's former failure months prior, when Kimura defeated Naotaka in a key battle against Ieyasu's last major rival, Toyotomi Hideyori, the son of the prior leader, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The final victory at Osaka castle and death of Hideyori solidified Tokugawa rule, and many historians use this date to signify the beginning of the Tokugawa era (1615-1868).

The Sengoku Period (circa 1467-1568), usually translated as the Warring States Period, was a prolonged era of civil war between numerous feudal domains. Lack of effective central leadership led domain lords to vie for larger areas of influence, and to create territories that were independent of outside rule. This situation remained until Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), worked together to effect a unification of the country under central rule. Characterized by ruthless ambitions and contested territories, the legends of the Sengoku Period maintained the themes of strength, honor, bravery, and loyalty established in the classical period and Genpei War (1180-1185). The prints here depict an era of grotesque violence and ingenious military tactics; warlords slaughtered their rivals families, and collected their enemies heads. Brilliant military strategies unfolded as smaller infantries toppled much larger armies using traps, diversions, and recently imported firearms. It was a time of gekokujō, , which can be translated as the low overcoming the high, and the ultimate victor of the Sengoku Period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was a man born to humble beginnings with no samurai lineage. These prints celebrate men like Hideyoshi, whose aggression and strategic genius brought them great status.