Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art Presents Utagawa Kuniyoshi Ukiyo-e Exhibition, Open Until September 23, 2026
The Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition of ukiyo-e by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, titled "Super Creator of Ukiyo-e: Utagawa Kuniyoshi Exhibition," through September 23, 2026. The exhibition will present works in five installments, starting with "Sanuki-in's Retainers Rescue Tametomo," created in 1851 and held in a private collection. The piece depicts a dramatic scene from Kyokutei Bakin's novel "Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki," featuring Minamoto no Tametomo rescued by a crow tengu amid a storm.
The Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art is currently hosting the exhibition "Super Creator of Ukiyo-e: Utagawa Kuniyoshi Exhibition," which will run until September 23, 2026. The exhibition will introduce the displayed works in five separate rotations. The first work on view is "Sanuki-in's Retainers Rescue Tametomo."
This piece was created in 1851, during the fourth year of the Kaei era, and belongs to a private collection. It is based on the novel "Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki" by Kyokutei Bakin, a story centered on the master archer Minamoto no Tametomo that gained popularity through illustrations by Katsushika Hokusai. The ukiyo-e depicts the climax of the tale: Tametomo, after defeat in the Hōgen Rebellion, is exiled to Izu Ōshima. As he attempts to regain power, a storm destroys his ship. On the verge of suicide, he is rescued by the crow tengu attendants of his patron, the Retired Emperor Sutoku (Sanuki-in).
In the upper part of the composition, a giant crocodile-shark carries a retainer holding Tametomo's young son, heading for the Ryukyu Kingdom. In the lower right, Tametomo's wife, Shira-nui-hime, is seen leaping into the sea to calm the storm. The striking depiction of the crocodile-shark, the bold composition, and the transparent rendering of the rescuing crow tengu reflect Kuniyoshi's distinctive imagination. In the late Edo period, the spread of temple schools (terakoya) and rising literacy among townspeople fueled a boom in popular entertainment literature and ukiyo-e, with Kuniyoshi's "kisō" (whimsical) style standing out prominently.