Page 83 - September 21 2021 Important Japanese Art Christie's NYC

PROPERTY FROM THE SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS
(LOTS 24-83)

76 UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)

The Ghosts of the Taira Attack
Yoshitsune in Daimotsu Bay

Woodblock print, triptych, each signed
Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga, published by Enshuya
Hikobei, circa 1849-53
Vertical oban triptych: 14¿ x 9æ in. (35.9 x 24.8
cm.) each approx. (3)

$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE:
Raymond A. Bidwell (1876-1954), Springfield, Massachusetts

EXHIBITED:
“Ukiyo-e from The Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA”,
exh. cat. p. 93, no. 24, exhibited at the following venues:
Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo, 4 June-3 July, 1994
Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, 16
July-21 August, 1994
Yokkaichi Municipal Museum, Mie Prefecture, 1 September-4 October,
1994
Joan Whitney Payson Gallery of Art, Portland, Maine, 25
February-9 April, 1989

LITERATURE:
The Raymond A. Bidwell Collection of Prints by Utagawa
Kuniyoshi (Massachusetts: The Raymond A. Bidwell and
Bertha U. Bidwell Fund, 1968), pl. 98.

This powerful design fills the space allowed by the triptych format
to brilliant affect. The work depicts the ghosts of the Taira family
exacting revenge upon Minamoto Yoshitsune (1159-89) following
their brutal defeat during a historic battle at Daimotsu Bay. The ghosts
of the Taira clan are hauntingly silhouetted against a dark sky as they
attack Yoshitsune’s ship and the troops can be seen frantically lowering
the boat’s sails as the gigantic waves rise up ominously around them.
The noh play Funa Benkei [Benkei in the Boat] recounts this episode,
which eventually ends well for Yoshitsune and his men due to
Yoshitsune’s faithful retainer, the monk Benkei, who offers prayers
to the gods of the sea, causing the angry ghosts to disappear and the
storm to calm, allowing the ship to continue on its journey.