This is a scene from Azuma kagami, a historical account of the Kamakura shogunate, in which Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the shogunate, hurries to the camp at Kisegawa after hearing that Yoritomo had raised an army. The stern composition with large blanks conveys the tension between the two warriors exchanging glances, creating chilliness that seems to suggest the tragedy awaiting the brothers. The painter is said to have consulted Yoritomo’s (now considered Ashikaga Tadayoshi’s) portrait housed in Jingo-ji, Kyoto, a Bishamonten (Vaishravana) statue from the Heian period (794–1185) for Yoshitsune’s image, and the descriptions in Gikeiki, an popular account of the life of Yoshitsune, for the costume, to produce this extraordinarily elaborate masterpiece of history painting.

(Designated an Important Cultural Property on June 27, 2011)