Departure of the Warrior Kusunoki at the Sakurai Station
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- Image courtesy of
- Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Description
This print depicts the farewell of Kusunoki Masashige to his son Masatsura at Sakurai — one of the most celebrated scenes in Japanese historical narrative, from the Taiheiki chronicles of the fourteenth century. Kusunoki, a loyalist general fighting for Emperor Go-Daigo, bids his son farewell before the Battle of Minatogawa, at which he knows he will die. The scene became a standard of Meiji-era patriotic imagery, used to promote loyal self-sacrifice. Kiyochika's treatment would place the two figures in an emotionally charged composition, likely beneath cherry blossoms or against a landscape background, drawing on both the warrior-print tradition and the Meiji state's cultivation of historical heroes.
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Departure of the Warrior Kusunoki at the Sakurai Station was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
Departure of the Warrior Kusunoki at the Sakurai Station depicts transportation and warriors.