A man with a drawn sword faces a samurai shielding a woman

A man in a brown plaid robe stands at the left, a blue line of make-up on his cheek and a drawn blade held low at his side, as smoke curls past a straw rope tassel hanging from above. At the right a samurai in a pale blue robe grips the hilt of his sheathed sword and holds back a crouching woman in a blue-striped kimono. Between them flames leap from a red box planted with pine. Red cartouches name each figure, with Kuniyoshi's signatures and seals at the lower corners.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861) brought heroes, monsters and spectacle into the ukiyo-e print. A pupil of Toyokuni, he made his name in 1827 with the series of the One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Suikoden, tattooed warriors caught mid-action, and went on to giant skeletons, cats, whales and satirical puzzles that slipped past the censors. His restless invention influenced Yoshitoshi and, much later, tattoo and manga art. His prints are held by the British Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.