34 Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1798 – 1861 Kansuke Reporting to Shingen at the Battle of Kawanakajima

publisher: Sanoya Kihei (Sanoki)

Fantastic Kuniyoshi triptych depicting the samurai Yamamoto Kansuke reporting details of the enemy’s movements to General Takeda Shingen during the Battle of Kawanakajima. One of Shingen’s trusted Twenty-four Generals, Kansuke kneels on the rocky shore of the river before his master, who sits on a folding stool surrounded by retainers. Shingen wears a magnificent horned helmet with a demon head and a shaggy white wig, holding a battle fan and a string of prayer beads, signifying command and inner composure. Kansuke’s armor is adorned with a sashimono (standard) bearing the emblem of a centipede (mukade) — the insignia of Shingen’s messengers. Behind them, the Chikumagawa River ripples in stylized undulating waves, rendered in Kuniyoshi’s distinctive graphic rhythm.