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Collections

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Bunya no Watamaro and Surrendering Rebels in Ōshū1880, February

Not on view
Japanese woodblock print showing a tall bearded figure in a white fur cloak holding a staff, surrounded by smaller figures in colorful robes, with mountains and red banner in background; Japanese text cartouches at upper right

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Bunya no Watamaro and Surrendering Rebels in Ōshū, 1880, February, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Herbert R. Cole Collection, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Title
Bunya no Watamaro and Surrendering Rebels in Ōshū
Place Made
Japan
Date Made
1880, February
Period
Meiji period (1868-1912)
Medium
Color woodblock print
Dimensions
Image: 12 1/2 × 8 1/8 in. (31.75 × 20.64 cm) Sheet: 14 3/8 × 9 7/16 in. (36.51 × 23.97 cm)
Credit Line
Herbert R. Cole Collection
Accession Number
M.84.31.254
Classification
Prints
Collecting Area
Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes
Like his comrade Sakanoue Tamuramaro, the Heian general Bunya no Watamaro (765-823) symbolizes loyalty to the imperial line. We see Bunya here dressed in white furs, stoically accepting the surrender of groveling Ebisu rebels, in a scene from the campaign to purge enemies of the emperor from eastern Honshū. Bunya gained fame by suppressing a revolt against the imperial court led by the outcast Empress Kusuriko in 811. His victory elevated him to the rank of shogun and proved him a dedicated protector of the emperor-a role that was especially popular in the Meiji period, when the emperor regained political power after a hiatus of nearly 700 years.