Kashiwade no Hatebe

Date:

mid 1830s

Medium:

Print

Format:

Oban

Source:

Victoria and Albert Museum

Typical Price

Uncommon subject or exceptional impression: $2,000–$8,000
Good condition standard print: $500–$2,000
Later impression or common subject: $200–$600

Description

Kashiwade no Hatebe was a legendary powerful warrior of ancient Japan, said to possess extraordinary physical strength, and Kuniyoshi renders him with the imposing presence the legend demands. Produced in the mid-1830s when Kuniyoshi was at the height of his musha-e output, the print showcases his command of rich pigment layering and the detailed rendering of armour lacings and sword fittings. The figure's stance projects the contained ferocity that distinguishes Kuniyoshi's hero portraits from more decorative warrior imagery.

More Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Yan Qing (Roshi Ensei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"

Poem by Abe no Nakamaro, from an untitled series of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets

Hu Sanniang (Ko Sanjo Ichijosei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"

Miya, Kuwana, Yokkaichi, and Ishiyakushi, from the series "Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Four Stations (Tokaido gojusan eki yonshuku meisho)"

More Figures Prints

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki)

Woodblock print

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

Woodblock print

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Japanese Ghost and Yōkai Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Kashiwade no Hatebe was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) in mid 1830s.

Kashiwade no Hatebe depicts figures, mythology, and warriors.