Utagawa school, Heroic Story of Iwami Jūtarō, final volume, 1880

Musha-e (Warrior Prints)

Brave heroes and warriors from the pages of history and mythology were the subject of many Japanese prints. After all, Japan had a warrior culture stretching back centuries. During the 19th century, portraits of warriors became a significant genre in printmaking.

Perhaps surprisingly, these Japanese warrior prints are not often found in Western collections of the time. The export market for Japanese prints primarily catered to safer subjects such as bijinga and landscapes.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Shinagawa, from the series The Tōkaidō in Fifty-Three Pairs, 1845 — Utagawa Kuniyoshi, *Shinagawa, from the series The Tōkaidō in Fifty-Three Pairs*, 1845

Warrior artist

Kuniyoshi was the first prominent artist to specialise in depicting warriors. He paid great attention to the facial expressions and poses adopted by his figures, offering almost caricatural depictions of the excitement and suspense of the warrior stories.

The publisher sometimes included a short narrative poem with the print, to help explain exactly which scene was being depicted.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Two Wounded Warriors of the Takechi [Akechi] Clan, , central sheet of the triptych Illustration of the Death of Leaders and Vassals of the Takechi [Akechi] Clan at the Great Battle of Amagasaki, 1865 — Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, *Two Wounded Warriors of the Takechi [Akechi] Clan, , central sheet of the triptych Illustration of the Death of Leaders and Vassals of the Takechi [Akechi] Clan at the Great Battle of Amagasaki*, 1865

Violent prints

The prints of warriors were sometimes rather gory and violent. Vincent van Gogh only had a limited number of prints of warriors in his collection; perhaps the gruesome scenes clashed with his idealised image of Japan as a peaceful country.