Katsukawa Shuntei 春亭: Warrior Kusunoki Masashige Holding Scroll 楠 正成
Artist: Katsukawa Shuntei 春亭 (1770-1820)
Title: Warrior Kusunoki Masashige Holding Scroll 楠 正成
Date: ca. 1815-1820
Kusunoki Masashige fills the page in all of his military splendor; he holds a scroll in his right hand and a fan an his left. He has a tiger-fur sword cover and fur boots, and a quiver of arrows is on his back. He sits on a camp stool and seems to be issuing instructions to an unseen soldier. Note that Shuntei specialized in warrior prints before the great Kuniyoshi exploded on the scene with his Suikoden series a few years following the death of Shuntei.
The text , which is written in classical, Chinese reads:
「楠 正成 忠魂独り、自ら天地を存じ、妙策殊に能く、鬼神をとり拉ぐ。」The translation may read:
“Kusunoki Masashige, the unprecedented man of loyalty (to the emperor), possessed deep insight, All Heaven and Earth within his grasp. Especially by demonstrating unusual and clever strategies, he removed supernatural enemies.”
Emperor Godaigo 後醍醐天皇,( reigned 1318-1339), discovered Masashige around 1331; Masashige devoted himself to the emperor until the end of his life, fighting against Kamakura Bakufu (1182-1333). His approaches to fighting strategy were unconventional but wise. Numerous examples are known. For instance, at the battle of Akasaka Castle 赤坂城, in April 1332, the enemy was barricaded in the castle. Therefore Masashige intercepted the transportation of provisions. His soldiers were disguised as carriers and exchanged rice, the content of straw bags, with munitions. He achieved access to the castle, and the enemy simply surrendered without fighting.
In July 1332, when Utsunomiya Takatsuna宇都宮高綱, master of archery, was ordered to defeat Masashige, Takatsuna left Kyoto and took the position at the Tennô-ji Tempel. Since Masashige knew Takatsuna’s superior ability of archery, he chose to win without fighting. His famous saying “It is easy to lose life at a battle, just like dust. Therefore we must win without fighting.” For three entire days Masashige burned large numbers of torches on his side of the mountain, as if he had a great number of soldiers, and scared the enemy. As a result, Takatsuna thought that he had no chance to win and left the temple. Masashige could take over the temple without fighting.
At the defeat of the battle of Minatogawa 湊川(1336) Masashige committed seppuku, saying “I wish I may have seven lives, which I could give to save the emperor.”
The renown and originality of his strategy was told generation after generation. In the Meiji period, he and his clan were to receive the honorable title of nobility, but due to the lack of clarity in lineage at that time, it was realized later in different form.
In this print, Masashige is seated on a folding stool (shogi) on a battlefield. He carries two swords and arrows in a quiver quiver. In his left hand he holds a folding fan, in his right a scroll. The scene catches the moment when Masashige is handing out the writing scroll and talking to a bowing receiver in front of him, whom we do not see but toward whom his eyesight is directed. His lips are moving as if he is talking to the recipient of the scroll. Different from the traditional theme of Farewell of Masashige from Masayuki, his successor at Sakurai, this scene is more vivid and fresh.
The artist Shuntei designed many book illustrations. In 1815 he illustrated the book “Kusunoki ichidai chûsô gunki 楠一代忠壮軍記” Military Chronicle of Loyal and Brave Kusunoki Generation）(5 vls.) with the text by Juppensha Ikkyû. (according to The House of Resource Materials for Ukiyoe 浮世絵文献資料館 ukiyo-e bunken shiryô-kan).
There is a terrific bronze statue from the Meiji period of Kusunoki Masashige on horseback that overlooks Jijubashi Bridge in the heart of today’s Tokyo. A rarely-seen design, especially in this condition. With thanks to Michiko Sato-Grube for her research.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban (38.7 x 26 cm)
Signature: Shuntei ga
SKU: SHC040S