Utagawa Kunisada (aka Toyokuni III)
Japanese (1786 – 1865) Primary

Empress Jingu with Sword and Bow, from the Series Kuni tsukushi Yamato meiyo (Collection of Honorable Figures and Provinces of Japan)

Edo
1852 - 1853

Sheet
9 3/4 x 7 in. (24.765 x 17.78 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• arrows - Projectiles generally consisting of a straight, slender shaft with a sharp point or carrying a sharp edged or pointed head of stone or metal, shot from a bow. More developed versions also have flights near the butt to stabilize their trajectory.
• body armor - Pieces of armor worn on the human body.
• bows - Stringed projectile weapons designed to propel arrows, generally consisting of a long stave of wood, metal, fiberglass, or other flexible material, with a length of strong string fastened to the tips of the stave which is bent in a curve, either permanently or from the tension of the string. The string is drawn back, holding the arrow by means of a notch in its rear tip, and propels the arrow upon release.
• chūban - In Japanese printing, format derived from a large sheet, ō-ōban, around 26.5 x 19 cm.
• edged weapons - Weapons featuring a sharp edge or point for cutting, thrusting, clubbing, slashing, or various combinations thereof.
• Edo - Refers to the period and style that developed from the unification of Japan in 1600 until the end of the shogunal dynasty in 1868. During this period, economic expansion encouraged the rise of an educated merchant class who created their own forms of literature and theater as well as new schools of painting and woodblock printing. A wide diversity of pictorial subjects and styles developed during this period and many 19th century Western artists were influenced by them.
• empresses - Refers to female sovereigns of empires, which are political units that comprise a number of territories or nations and are ruled by a single supreme authority. The term may also refer to the wives and widows of emperors.
• nishiki-e - Japanese prints in which numerous blocks are used to print many colors.
• Ukiyo-e - Distinctive genre in painting and other media, but most prominently in woodblock printing. It arose in the Edo period (1600-1868) and built up a broad popular market among the middle classes. Subject matter typically focused on brothel districts and kabuki theatres, with formats ranging from single sheet prints to book illustrations. Generally, the style is characterized by a mixture of the realistic narrative of the Kamakura period and the mature decorative style of the Momoyama and Edo periods. Distinctive styles and specialties in subject matter were developed by different schools throughout the period.
• Utagawa, Kunisada, 1786-1864 - Sources:
  - His Kunisada, 1966.
  - Kunisada, 1993:
  - Mirror of the stage, 1996:
  - Hayashi, Y. Utagawa Kunisada
  - JapanKnowledge Lib, May 9, 2017
  - Shinpan kabuki jiten/JapanKnowledge Lib, viewed May 9, 2017
  - Web NDL authorities, May 9, 2017
  - LC database, May 9, 2017
• woodcuts - Prints made using the process of woodcut, which is a relief process in which the design is cut into and printed from the plank side of a wood block; distinct from "wood engraving (process)," which is a relief process using the grain end of a wood block.