This print records the 1805 brawl at the Shinmei shrine in Shiba, when firemen of the me-gumi brigade and sumo wrestlers fell into open street combat — an incident that became a touchstone of Edo popular memory. Yotsuguruma Daihachi, a heavyweight wrestler, and Kotengu Heisuke, a fireman, are locked in close-quarters confrontation, their bodies arranged to convey the press of hand-to-hand fighting. Yoshitoshi handles the figure pair with the diagonal compositional torque he learned from Kuniyoshi, exploiting heavy black outlines and graduated [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) to model muscular bulk against shrine architecture that grounds the scene in a specific Shiba locale. Real-event [musha-e](/glossary/musha-e) of this kind formed a substantial part of Yoshitoshi's middle-period output: rather than legendary warriors of the Heike or Genpei wars, he turned increasingly to recent civic incidents that resonated with Edo townspeople's living memory of street life, brigade rivalry, and the public frictions between sumo houses and the city's volunteer fire companies.
1888
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Color woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Yotsuguruma Daihachi and Kotengu Heisuke duelling during the battle between firemen and sumo wrestlers at the Shinmei shrine in Shiba in 1805 was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年).
Yotsuguruma Daihachi and Kotengu Heisuke duelling during the battle between firemen and sumo wrestlers at the Shinmei shrine in Shiba in 1805 depicts sumo, temples & shrines, and warriors.
