Repelling the Mongol Pirate Ships (Môko zokusen taiji no zu)
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Image courtesy of
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Description
This print depicts the repulsion of the Mongol invasions of Japan — the two failed amphibious assaults of 1274 and 1281 — which by the late Edo and Meiji periods had become a major subject of historical and nationalistic printmaking. The term 'zokusen' (pirate ships) frames the Mongol fleet as illegitimate aggressors, a perspective consistent with Japanese historical memory. The composition likely shows Japanese warriors at the shoreline or aboard vessels engaging the Mongol fleet, possibly incorporating the storms (kamikaze, divine winds) credited with destroying the invasion armada in 1281. Kyosai's dynamic figure work and his command of action composition — both trained through the Kanô school's battle-painting (kassen-e) tradition — suited this martial subject. Historical battle imagery required the rendering of armor, weaponry, and massed conflict, areas where Kyosai's draftsmanship excelled. The print may also reflect the heightened interest in historical military subjects that accompanied Meiji-era nation-building.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
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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
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Tsukishimadera Temple in Hyôgo (Hyôgo Tsukishimadera), 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 no uchi
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from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
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More Seascapes Prints
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The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
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Pine Beach at Miho (Miho no Matsubara), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"
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Frequently Asked Questions
Repelling the Mongol Pirate Ships (Môko zokusen taiji no zu) was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
Repelling the Mongol Pirate Ships (Môko zokusen taiji no zu) depicts seascapes.