Ichijō Jirō Tadayori and Noto no Kami Noritsune by Katsukawa Shuntei

Ichijō Jirō Tadayori and Noto no Kami Noritsune

Katsukawa Shuntei (勝川春亭) | c. 1810s–1820s | Ōban nishiki-e warrior print

Two armored warriors grapple in this dynamic musha-e by Katsukawa Shuntei. The work names Ichijō Jirō Tadayori, a warrior of the Kai Genji lineage, and Noto no Kami Noritsune (Taira no Noritsune), a celebrated Heike fighter. Their struggle gives the print its dramatic focus. ⚔️

Two Names, One Dramatic Encounter

Tadayori was the son of Takeda Nobuyoshi and a prominent member of the Kai Genji. Noritsune is remembered in stories of the Genpei War as one of the Heike's formidable warriors. Shuntei brings these figures together in an image of close combat. The composition should not be treated as a documentary record of a specific encounter or assigned to a named battle without further evidence. 🌊

Movement, Armor, and Waves

The figures' interlocking bodies and intense expressions convey the force of their struggle. Finely drawn armor and a raised sword sharpen the sense of movement, while dark waves surge behind them. The print turns a warrior story into a tightly composed scene of action. 🎴

About Katsukawa Shuntei

The signature Shuntei ga (春亭画) appears at the lower left. Katsukawa Shuntei worked in the Edo period and produced dynamic warrior imagery. The signature identifies the artist as Shuntei; it does not, on its own, establish a numbered generation. 🌸

Explore more stories behind Japanese woodblock prints at Atelier UKIYO.