We date the print to 1851 – 1853. The triptych measures 36” by 22” framed – the image size is 31” by 15 ¾”. It is in excellent condition. The rice paper on which the print is made shows signs of having been wrinkled; however, it has flattened out quite nicely in the framing. The colors are still quite vivid and the registration of all aspects of the picture is particularly superb. The frame is a plain gold painted wood frame and shows signs of wear – the print, however, is in fine shape.

Kuniyoshi was a master of many facets but in the fields of legend and history he reigns supreme. His is the work that forms the yardstick against which all others are judged. Mid nineteenth century Ukiyo-e art is best represented in its three most illustrious artists- Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi. A student of Toyokuni, Kuniyoshi in his art has always seemed more akin to Western thought and style than any other Golden Age Japanese master. Kuniyoshi's finest art was created from the 1830's and into the later years of the 1850's. Many of his most famous works draw from legend and history which gave him the imaginative vehicle to portray a vast spectrum of human emotions. His influence on the course of the Japanese woodcut was enormous and was directly passed on in the Meiji era to his best student, Yoshitoshi.