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Lot 55
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892)
The Fever of Taira no Kiyomori
Price Realised
GBP 1,750
More Information
Specialist note
This dramatic scene is taken from the Heike Monogatari (Tale of Heike), which told the story of the feud between the Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heike) clans that was retold many times in plays and prints, however here Yoshitoshi has imbued it with his own unique style.
Kiyomori (1118-1181) was son of a concubine of the Emperor Shirakawa Tenno. As punishment for burning a giant bronze Buddha, Kiyomori was tortured by a fever so hot that the water boiled when he bathed. In this design Kiyomori is attended by his praying wife and son, with Enma, the King of Hell, in the background flanked by two of his judges and terrifying demons. Yoshitoshi evokes the vision of hell and the fever with unusual and lurid colours.
For another impression in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, accession number 11.21634-6, go to:
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-fever-of-taira-no-kiyomori-taira-no-kiyomori-hi-no-yamai-no-zu-493507
Kiyomori (1118-1181) was son of a concubine of the Emperor Shirakawa Tenno. As punishment for burning a giant bronze Buddha, Kiyomori was tortured by a fever so hot that the water boiled when he bathed. In this design Kiyomori is attended by his praying wife and son, with Enma, the King of Hell, in the background flanked by two of his judges and terrifying demons. Yoshitoshi evokes the vision of hell and the fever with unusual and lurid colours.
For another impression in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, accession number 11.21634-6, go to:
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-fever-of-taira-no-kiyomori-taira-no-kiyomori-hi-no-yamai-no-zu-493507