In the center of the print we see Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578) in a direct surprise attack upon Takeda Shingen (1521-1573), on the left. From 1553-1564, during the period of Warring States (sengoku jidai, 1467-1568), these warlords fought five battles on the Kawanakajima plain in the Northern Japanese Alps. At the time, this area was a "no-man's land" between their respective territories of Kai and Echigo. The fourth battle, which is described in the Kōyō Gunkan, was the best documented and the most bloody of the five. During this battle, an epic encounter took place, which served as the subject of this print. Before Takeda Shingen's foot-soldiers-seen here standing in the lower-left corner-could save their lord, Uesugi Kenshin manages to administer three cuts on his body armor and seven cuts on his war-fan, which Takeda Shingen uses to fend off sword blows. This event is famous as a rare one-on-one duel between two great warlords.
