from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)

Part of the Kyosai hyakuzu, this print demonstrates the anthology's capacity to hold together radically different pictorial modes under a single artist's authorship. Kyosai's training under Kuniyoshi gave him a warrior-print vocabulary that sits alongside his Buddhist, yokai, and naturalist work without stylistic contradiction. This sheet may depict a warrior or historical figure rendered in the musha-e tradition — a single combatant or a paired confrontation, with weaponry and armor described in precise, Kano-inflected line. Kyosai's warrior figures differ from the type established by Kuniyoshi in their psychological interiority: the face receives the same analytical attention as the armor, and the result is characterization rather than typology. The woodblock printing employs multiple color registrations to render the complex surfaces of lacquered armor and fabric, with selective use of metallic or mica grounds possible in luxury editions of the series.