Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Tales in the Round: Manjū Netsuke and Japanese Woodblock Prints

(from 30th Apr until 22nd Sep 2013)

Discover dramatic episodes from Japanese culture in these exquisitely carved objects and prints.

Detail of a manju netsuke depicting Minamoto Yoshitsune practising martial arts with a tengu demon,
The Brilliant General Takeda Shingenfront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

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The Brilliant General Takeda Shingen

  • Description

    At the fourth battle of Kawanakajima, the warlord Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) fought off a surprise attack from his long time neighbour and rival, Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578) by parrying the enemy’s sword with his metal war-fan. In the distance troops fighting at the confluence of the Sai and Chikumen rivers can be seen. The name Kawanakajima means ‘island between rivers’ and was the site of five battles between these two warlords. This warrior is one of those depicted on the netsuke EA2001.88.

  • Details

    show all
    Series
    One Hundred Brave Generals of Kawanakajima
    Associated place
    Asia › Japan › Honshū › Kantō › Tōkyō prefecture › Tōkyō (place of creation)
    Asia › Japan › Honshū › Kantō › Tōkyō prefecture › Tōkyō (place of publication)
    Asia › Japan (Kawanakajima) (subject)
    Date
    published 1845 - 1846
    Artist/maker
    Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861) (designer)
    Associated people
    Shimizu Naojirō (active 1845 - 1873) (publisher)
    Takeda Shingen (1521 - 1573) (subject)
    Material and technique
    nishiki-e (multi-block) woodblock print
    Dimensions
    mount 55.3 x 40.2 cm (height x width)
    print 37.8 x 25.5 cm (height x width)
    Material index
    processed material › paper
    Technique index
    printed › relief print › woodcut › colour woodcut
    Object type index
    visual representation › print
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Presented by Christ Church College, University of Oxford, 1983.
    Accession no.
    EA1983.80

  • Further reading

    Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 23 April-22 September 2013, Manjū: Netsuke from the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Joyce Seaman, ed. (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2013), illus. p. 206 fig. 59

Glossary (2)

netsuke, nishiki-e

  • netsuke

    The netsuke is a form of toggle that was used to secure personal items suspended on cords from the kimono sash. These items included purses, medicine cases or tobacco paraphernalia.

  • nishiki-e

    Nishiki-e literally means 'brocade pictures' and refers to multi-coloured woodblock prints.

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Notice

Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.

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