Kusonoki Tatewaki Masatsura (Warrior From the Book: Taiheiki)

Yashima Gakutei created this portrait of the medieval warrior Kusunoki Tatewaki Masatsura around 1830, drawing on the celebrated military chronicle Taiheiki for his subject. The print is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and exemplifies the artist's adaptation of historical narrative to the demanding format of surimono.

Masatsura, son of the renowned Kusunoki Masashige, was a fourteenth-century loyalist whose death at the Battle of Shijōnawate became emblematic of unwavering devotion to the imperial cause during the Northern and Southern Courts era. Gakutei presents him in full armor, the lacing of his ō-yoroi rendered with patterned bands of color and embossing. His helmet, sword, and indications of weaponry are arranged to fill the composition decisively, the figure striding or standing braced as if at a crucial moment in the chronicle.