Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III, Japanese, 1786–1865), Inumura Daikaku Masanori and Inue Shinbei Masashi Defending the Honor of the Satomi Clan, 1845.

An oban-format woodblock-print diptych from a series of four diptychs illustrating the eight heroic samurai of the Satomi clan in Kyokutei Bakin’s celebrated novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden (The Eight Dog Warriors of the Satomi Clan).

Signed Toyokuni ga and published by Yebisu-ya. The reverse bears four detailed English labels recording the artist, date, publisher, format and condition, together with biographical accounts of the two warriors and an introduction to the Hakkenden story.

The two sheets depict Inumura Daikaku Masanori and Inue Shinbei Masashi in a dramatic interior scene. According to the English labels affixed to the reverse, Masanori, originally from Shimotsuke Province, avenged his father by killing a supernatural wildcat and later joined the Satomi clan. Masashi, the son of a shipowner from Ichikawa in Shimōsa Province, grew up in Awa Province, entered the service of the Satomi family, and was famed for capturing a tiger barehanded at Shirakawa while traveling to Kyoto. 

Each sheet approximately: 14 1/2 × 9 7/8 in. (36.8 × 25.1 cm); frame: 20 5/8 × 25 3/4 in. (52.4 × 65.4 cm).

Provenance: From the collection of the distinguished San Francisco collector Irving Freedenberg, known as “Bill.”

Overall surface dirt and discoloration, each presents a horizontal crease from a previous central fold, each shows holes with loss (likely from previous binding) and uneven edges. For condition report and additional photos, please contact the Asian Art Department.