45 Kobayashi Kiyochika 1847 – 1915 Oda Nobunaga

Japan, 1885

This print, number 32 from the series Kyōdō risshi no motoi (Instructive Models of Lofty Ambition), was designed by Kobayashi Kiyochika in 1885. The composition depicts Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), a Japanese military commander during the Azuchi-Momoyama period and famously known as one of Japan's "Three Great Unifiers". Nobunaga rides in an outlandish outfit with an attendant holding an umbrella over his head, surrounded by his troops. A disguised Saitō Dōsan (1494–1556), his future father-in-law, is seen poking his head out of a hut, sneaking a peek at the young Nobunaga. The story takes place in 1549, when Dōsan arranged to secretly observe his future son-in-law, whose reputation for being a fool was widely known. Although Nobunaga's attire was indeed bizarre—featuring items like tiger and leopard skin worn beneath a gold brocade garment—Dōsan later realized Nobunaga's true brilliance and underlying defiance during their formal meeting. Dōsan tearfully predicted to his retainers that his own children would one day have to beg for their lives from this perceived fool. Kiyochika contributed a total of 20 prints to this series.