- Title
- Shinchūnagon Taira no Tomomori Sweeping the Deck
- Date Made
- 1886, January
- Medium
- Color woodblock print
- Dimensions
- Image: 12 15/16 × 8 11/16 in. (32.86 × 22.07 cm)
Sheet: 13 7/8 × 9 3/8 in. (35.24 × 23.81 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.84.31.97
- Collecting Area
- Japanese Art
- Curatorial Notes
Taira no Tomomori (1151-1185) was a warrior in the Taira naval fleet who exemplified the samurai ideal of a dignified death, which Yoshitoshi has foreshadowed here. We see Tomomori with a calmly resigned demeanor, thoroughly tidying the deck of his ship upon realizing that his fleet would soon be decimated by the rival Minamoto forces. Such an act may seem futile, but Tomomori set to cleaning because he did not want the enemy to have the satisfaction of claiming a ship left in disarray by ostensibly frenzied, fearful Taira warriors. As the battle drew to an end, Tomomori lept into the sea hand-in-hand with his foster brother, with whom he had vowed to die honorably in the event of defeat. Tomomori took care that neither he nor his comrades would be humiliated in death, making him a compelling subject for Yoshitoshi's audience.
