Returning sails
Title: Mitate hakkei (美盾八競 ) – kihan (帰帆)
Description: Koman (小万) swimming in Lake Biwa with the sacred white Minamoto war banner in her teeth, is spotted and about to be attacked from the Taira barge by General Sanemori. This story is most famously depicted in the play Nunobiki no Taki.
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 – 1861)
Signature: Signed on all three sheets Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga (一勇斎 國芳 画)
Date: 1846
Publisher: Ise-ya Ichibei
Robinson: T180
Condition: Very good impression, with strong wood grain. Very good colour and condition with, some marks and stains
Price: TBC
The tale of the print – with a little twist
During the brutal Genpei War, when the Minamoto and Taira clans were trying very hard to erase each other from the family tree, a widowed farmer’s daughter named Koman found herself entrusted with a sacred responsibility: protect the Minamoto banner at all costs.
This was not a job for the faint‑hearted. Or the faint‑swimming.
Pursued by Taira soldiers, Koman did the only logical thing: she jumped straight into Lake Biwa, clutching the white banner in her teeth like a determined otter with a very patriotic snack.
She kicked, paddled, and swam through the dark waters, fully committed to her mission and absolutely unwilling to let the Taira get their hands on the flag.
Just when she thought she might escape, fate said: “Let’s make this harder.” A luxurious pleasure barge drifted by — the kind with silk curtains, fancy lanterns, and people who definitely weren’t expecting to see a soaked, furious woman swimming past with a banner in her mouth.
Unfortunately, the barge belonged to Taira general Saitō Sanemori, who was probably enjoying a relaxing evening until he spotted Koman and thought, “Well, that’s suspicious.”
Sanemori’s men tried to “rescue” her, which in Taira language meant “capture her and steal the banner.” Koman refused. She dove, twisted, splashed, and did everything short of biting them.
Realizing she would rather drown than surrender the flag, Sanemori made a ruthless decision: He severed her arm to take the banner.