- Title
- Tomoe Gozen, Wife of Kiso Yoshinaka, Defeating Uchida Saburō
- Date Made
- 1865, 11th month
- Period
- Edo period (1603 - 1868)
- Medium
- Color woodblock print
- Dimensions
- Image: 14 1/16 × 9 5/8 in. (35.72 × 24.45 cm)
Sheet: 14 3/8 × 9 5/8 in. (36.51 × 24.45 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.84.31.209
- Collecting Area
- Japanese Art
- Curatorial Notes
Records of Tomoe Gozen vary widely, and some scholars believe she was a completely fictional character. Here, Yoshitoshi has illustrated a scene popular in kyôgen plays (comic interludes between Noh acts), in which Tomoe defends her husband, Kiso no Yoshinaka, from the warlord Uchida Saburō. Such intertextuality-as in art referring to theatre-is what kept the legend of Tomoe alive. Regardless of whether or not she actually existed, Tomoe is identified as a consummate equestrian and warrior, as deadly as she is beautiful. In addition to her bravery and fierceness in battle, Tomoe is also revered for her loyalty to her husband, enacted in this print. Some accounts of her life maintain that after his death she became a nun, faithfully keeping Kiso in her heart and mind.
