Kuniyoshi: Yoshitsune Training in Martial Arts with the Tengu (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) Title: Yoshitsune Training with the Tengu King Sojobo (Minamoto no Ushiwaka Maru Sojobo no shitagau bujutsu wo) The young Yoshitsune (Ushiwakamaru) trains with the Tengu King and his cohort of birdlike tengu in his hidden forest lair on Mount Karuma. We see Yoshitsune high in the air at right, his wooden practice sword just having knocked away the wooden sword of one tengu, who flies backwards in astonishment. A second tengu is on the downstroke, also having missed his target. The tengu have birdlike wings but wear human clothes, although their 3-clawed feet are unshod. Their birdlike beaks also have rows of pointy teeth. The Tengu King Sojobo sits mountainlike upon his wide nest, grasping something magical in his clawed hands. A primitive standing torch wafts flames and smoke into the air; night must be falling. At left wee see Yoshitsune’s attendant Kisanda, holding his master’s sword. Minamoto no Yoshitsune is one of the most famous warriors in