A composition combining the perennial subjects of warrior and supernatural adversary — the armed samurai confronting demons, monsters, or supernatural opponents that had been a staple of Japanese narrative art since the Heian period. Kyosai's warriors never merely stand their ground: they advance, they strike, they display the concentrated fury of men trained from childhood to regard violence as a discipline. His demons, meanwhile, are rarely simply evil but complicated figures — sometimes comic, sometimes tragic — whose confrontation with human martial virtue generates genuine dramatic tension.
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
c. 1828/30
Color woodblock print; surimono
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Samurai and Monsters was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
Samurai and Monsters depicts warriors.