Koman, a female diver and loyal partisan of the Minamoto clan, swims across Lake Biwa clutching the clan's white banner to deliver it to safety during the Genpei Wars, while the Taira general Sanemori pursues her from a barge. Kuniyoshi depicts the desperate aquatic pursuit — Koman's pale figure cutting through the water, the armed boat bearing down — with the kinetic water imagery he deployed across his career. The subject celebrates female heroism and loyalty alongside the more familiar male warrior narratives.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Koman swimming, with the Minamoto banner in Lake Biwa, is attacked by Sanemori in a Taira barge. was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
Koman swimming, with the Minamoto banner in Lake Biwa, is attacked by Sanemori in a Taira barge. depicts music, landscapes, and rivers & lakes.
