Fashionable Battle of Frogs (Fûryû kaeru ôgassen no zu)
Description
A "fashionable" parody — the word "furyu" indicating contemporary elegance — depicting frogs engaging in a great battle, a conceit drawn from the classical "Battle of Frogs and Mice" tradition that itself derives from ancient Greek literature via Chinese and Japanese translations. Kyosai's frogs fight with appropriate warrior gravity, brandishing weapons and adopting heroic poses, while their amphibian bodies make the whole martial enterprise delightfully absurd. The work is among his most beloved comic prints, combining visual wit with compositional mastery.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai
Tenpôzan in Osaka: Viewing Children's Sumo (Naniwa Tenpôzan kodomo sumô shôran), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô
1863
Woodblock print
Kyosai, Royal Academy, London, FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING
2022
Original Museum Lithographic Exhibition Poster
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Old Picture of the Rashômon Gate (Rashômon no ko zu), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho tsuzuki
Woodblock print
More Warriors Prints
Benkei Bridge
Woodblock print
Saishin, from the series "Fashionable Women as the One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Water Margin (Fuzoku onna Suikoden, ippyakuhachinin no uchi)"
c. 1828/30
Color woodblock print; surimono
Herakles, Shôwa period, dated 1965?
Woodblock print
Chüshingura in Twelve Months
Woodblock print
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fashionable Battle of Frogs (Fûryû kaeru ôgassen no zu) was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
Fashionable Battle of Frogs (Fûryû kaeru ôgassen no zu) depicts warriors and animals.