KATSUKAWA SHUN'EI (1762-1819)

The pirate Watonai pacifies a ferocious tiger with his bare hands. Arriving in China to support the remnants of the Ming rulers against the Manchus, Watonai and his mother find themselves suddenly attacked by a tiger in a bamboo grove. Proving his courage, he proclaims to keep his katana undrawn whilst protecting his mother and defeating the wild beast.
The seventeenth century figure, who was later and more popularly known as Coxinga (Lord of the Imperial Surname; Kokusen’ya in Japanese), was born to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother on the island of Hirado. Inscribed on his armour chest plate is the character Wa, alluding to the first syllable of Watonai’s name, as well as the nation of Japan which this character strongly denotes. In his hand is a sacred talisman inscribed Daijingu, referring to the Grand Shrine of Ise, the most important imperial shrine in Japan. The scene depicted here was a favourite in both kabuki and the bunraku puppet theatre; the excitement reaching its peak when Watonai’s mother hands him the talisman, giving him the power to finally overcome the tiger.