Warriors Prints (402)
Warrior prints (musha-e) depict samurai, historical battles, legendary heroes, and martial subjects drawn from Japanese history, mythology, and literature. The genre flourished in the nineteenth century as artists responded to public appetite for dramatic narratives of valor, loyalty, and supernatural power, producing some of the most visually dynamic compositions in the woodblock tradition. Utagawa Kuniyoshi was the genre's supreme master, creating hundreds of warrior prints that combined vigorous draftsmanship with imaginative composition. His depictions of the 108 heroes of the Suikoden (Water Margin), historical battles, and supernatural encounters set standards of dramatic intensity that defined the genre. Kuniyoshi's warrior prints influenced not only subsequent printmakers but also the tattoo tradition (irezumi), which adopted many of his compositions. The warrior print tradition also served political purposes, particularly during periods when direct commentary on current events was censored. Artists used historical warrior subjects as coded references to contemporary political situations, a practice that required viewers to read the prints on multiple levels. The genre continued into the Meiji era, when prints documented the Satsuma Rebellion and Sino-Japanese War, before declining as photographic journalism replaced printmaking as the primary medium for depicting military subjects.
Artists Known for Warriors
Complete account of the chastisement at Kagoshima
1877
Tanaka Kanhachi
1869, 3rd lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Hohodemi no Mikoto
1867
Madaramaru
1867
Kurikara Kengorō
1867
Sakuma Dennai
1869, 3rd lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Bouto Kawajiri honjin no zu 暴徒川尻本陣図
Woodblock print
Yamato Warriors: Horibe Yasubei Taketsune, from Chushingura
Woodblock print
Picture of Second Lieutenant Takenouchi Tearing apart the Reconnaissance Map at the Time of Death
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of Second Lieutenant Ōmori Skillfully Protecting the Regimental Banner at Seongyoli
September 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Cavalryman Kimura Genmatsu …
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Lieutenant General Yamaji …
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Fifth Act
1860, 4th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Eighth Act
1860, 5th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Man with knife on rooftop
second half 1860s
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Sixth Act
1860, 4th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Oishi and Tarasaka
Woodblock print
Oishi Chikara Yoshikane 大石主税良金 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Oishi Se'emon 大石瀬右衛門 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Okano Kinemon Kanehide 岡野金右衛門包秀 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Shirakami Genjirō …
1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Shioda Matanojo Takanori 潮田又之丞高教 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Last Stand of the Kusunoki Clan at Shijonawate — Kusunoki Shijonawate chusen nozu - Masatsura
Woodblock print
Hara Soemon Mototoki 原惣右衛門元辰 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Chōan Killing His Younger Brother at Fuda-no-Tsuji
1886
Woodblock print (nishiki-e) diptych; ink and color on paper
Abe Hirafu
February 1880
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Genzanmi Yorimasa and I no Hayata
October 1878
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao
second half 1860s
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Ōshima Tanzō
1866, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of the Fever of Taira no Kiyomori
August 1883
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Shindō Kojirō Nobuyuki
1867, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kagoshima boto no zu
Woodblock print
In the Great Sino-Japanese War, Our Navy Has a Great Victory
Woodblock print
One of the Officers of the Warship Akagi ...
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Sergeant First-Class Yokoi ...
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Takebayashi Tadashichi Takashige 武林唯七隆重 / Gishi Shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Gunner Private First Class Sawagashira Unosuke …
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Infantryman Fujita Ukichi …
June 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
1876
Woodblock print
Konjin Chōgorō
1866
Picture of Masakiyo Conqering Korea
1864, 3rd lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Yoshida Wawaemon and Okuda Magodayu, from
Woodblock print
Two Battling Warriors; Muramatsu in Foreground
Woodblock print
Kagoshima kenka koutotsu kawatake saku no zu 鹿児島縣下甲突川竹柵之図
Woodblock print
Kagoshima boto tsuito ki
Woodblock print
Okuda Sadaemon Yukitaka 奥田貞右衛門行高 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
A scene of Japan-Russo war, triptych, 1904
Woodblock print
Attack at the Site of the Hundred-Foot Cliff
1895 (Meiji 28)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Major General Odera Fighting Fiercely at the Hundred Foot Cliff in Weihaiwei (Ikaiei hyakusekigaisho ni Odera shosho funsen su)
1895
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
Shinohara Kunimoto
1877
Triptych: Minamoto Tameyoshi's son Tametomo (1139-1170), from the series Episodes from Unknown Japanese History (Nihon gaishi no uchi), Meiji period, dated 1884
Woodblock print
Yada Goroemon Suketake 矢田五郎右衛門助武 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Eizô and Matsuomaru
1953
Woodblock print
First Lieutenant Mitani
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kirino Toshiaki
1877
Rapid Progress
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Landing and Advance to Weihaiwei (Ikaiei joriku shingun no zu)
1895
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
Propaganda Print from the Russo-Japanese War
Woodblock print
Captain Asakawa, Second Class Cavalryman Kimura Genmatsu
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Flying Lost Plan
April 1904
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Warrior prints (musha-e) depict samurai, historical battles, legendary heroes, and martial subjects drawn from Japanese history, mythology, and literature. The genre flourished in the nineteenth century as artists responded to public appetite for dramatic narratives of valor, loyalty, and supernatural power, producing some of the most visually dynamic compositions in the woodblock tradition.
Kobayashi Kiyochika, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, and Ogata Gekko are among the artists most associated with warriors in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 402 prints tagged with warriors, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.