33 Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1798 – 1861 Iga Jutaro pulling a mounted warrior from his horse

from the series Wakan jun Genji e-awase (Comparison of Japanese and Chinese Heroes)
publisher: Ise-Yoshi

This dynamic design shows the warrior Iga Jutaro in the midst of battle, grabbing his opponent’s belt and hurling him from his horse. The print belongs to the series Wakan jun Genji e-awase (Comparison of Japanese and Chinese Heroes), in which Kuniyoshi juxtaposed heroic figures from Japan and China to celebrate valor, loyalty, and moral integrity.

The diagonal composition intensifies the sense of movement, while the finely rendered armor contrasts with the unusually “Western”-styled trees and landscape, reflecting Kuniyoshi’s experiments with perspective and spatial realism. This work exemplifies the artist’s transitional phase, combining traditional martial drama with an emerging interest in psychological nuance and compositional innovation.