The Warrior Watanabe no Tsuna Fighting the Demon at Rashomon

In this Katsukawa Shunsho design, held by the Art Institute of Chicago, the warrior Watanabe no Tsuna confronts the demon at Rashomon, an episode drawn from medieval legend that Edo Kabuki adapted into a perennial spectacle. Tsuna, one of the four loyal retainers of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, was famous for severing the arm of an oni at the dilapidated southern gate of the imperial capital, and the encounter offered Kabuki performers an opportunity for dramatic combat staging. Shunsho's composition focuses on the moment of conflict, with the warrior's elaborately patterned armor and the demon's contorted form locked into a charged interaction. As yakusha-e by a master of the Katsukawa school, the print reflects Shunsho's interest in portraying named actors in legendary roles, treating mythological subject matter as another theatrical vehicle rather than a separate genre. Within the broader Edo ukiyo-e tradition, Watanabe no Tsuna appears repeatedly in prints, paintings, and book illustrations, and Shunsho's version connects the heroic narrative to specific Kabuki productions through its costume and pose conventions. The sheet preserves the way Edo audiences understood legendary material primarily through its stage embodiments, with the print marketplace providing a parallel arena where the same stories could be revisited at home. As an example of Katsukawa school design, the work shows Shunsho extending his portraitist's eye to the supernatural register without losing the human specificity that defined his approach.