Kuniyoshi prints – The tale of Yoshitsune
Hodo Yoshitsune koi no Minamoto ichidai kagami 程義経戀源 一代鏡
Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189) was a famous warrior whose tragic life and historical deeds quickly merged with folklore, transforming him into a tragic, superhuman hero. These legends became central subjects for ukiyo e artists, play writes and novelists alike and over the centuries, storytellers added layers of myth—tengu mentors, impossible feats, and heroic duels—creating a legendary figure whose life straddles history and folklore.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s woodblock prints are among the most influential visual interpretations of Yoshitsune. Through dynamic compositions, supernatural elements, and theatrical storytelling, Kuniyoshi immortalized Yoshitsune as Japan’s quintessential tragic hero.
Youthful exploits of Yoshitsune
The early life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune begins, as many good stories do, in flight and misfortune. His mother, Tokiwa-gozen, famed for her beauty, fled through the snow with her three young sons after the death of Minamoto no Yoshitomo in the Heiji War (1160). The infant Yoshitsune was carried in her arms (S65.1, S74.52).
Survival—rather than dignity—dictated her eventual submission (becoming his concubine) to Taira no Kiyomori (T155), thus securing her children’s lives at the cost of her own independence.
The boys were separated and sent into monastic life, their heads shaved and futures seemingly decided. The youngest, first called Ushiwaka-maru (牛若丸 -“young ox”), later Shanaō, and finally Minamoto no Kurō Yoshitsune, was placed at Kuramayama monastery. Monastic discipline, however, proved ill-suited to a boy destined for rather less contemplative pursuits.
Slipping out by night into the surrounding pine forests, he is said to have trained under the tutelage of the tengu and their king, acquiring near-superhuman skill with the sword (S65.2, S74.15, S88.8, T20, T264, T351). One suspects the monastery records did not note this extracurricular activity.