Tamamo no mae appearing before Tametomo, by Yashima Gakutei

An image of Tamamo no mae appearing before Tametomo. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing, circa 1820-circa 1823. Ukiyo-e. Poetry by Bentandai Giboshi, Bennihodai Kazumasu and Bensusha Masago. Notes: From a series for an unidentified poetry club. Tamamo no Mae, the Jewel Maiden, was the favourite concubine of Emperor Toba, and her story was told with many variations in stories and plays. After the Emperor was stricken seriously ill, she was declared a fiend by the court astrologer, and, her identity revealed, she flew away through the air to the Moor of Nasu, where she took her natural form of a fox. After being hunted by archers and dogs, she was shot and turned into the Death Stone. She was supposed to have appeared before the master archer Minamoto no Tametomo (1139-1170) when he was exiled to Osaka; the episode was the subject of a No play. Tametomo was seven feet tall, and had proportionately huge bow and arrows. His skill as an archer partly derived from his left arm being four inches longer than the right.

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Tamamo no mae appearing before Tametomo. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing, circa 1820-circa 1823. Ukiyo-e. Poetry by Bentandai Giboshi, Bennihodai Kazumasu and Bensusha Masago. Notes: From a series for an unidentified poetry club. Tamamo no Mae, the Jewel Maiden, was the favourite concubine of Emperor Toba, and her story was told with many variations in stories and plays. After the Emperor was stricken seriously ill, she was declared a fiend by the court astrologer, and, her identity revealed, she flew away through the air to the Moor of Nasu, where she took her natural form of a fox. After being hunted by archers and dogs, she was shot and turned into the Death Stone. She was supposed to have appeared before the master archer Minamoto no Tametomo (1139-1170) when he was exiled to Osaka; the episode was the subject of a No play. Tametomo was seven feet tall, and had proportionately huge bow and arrows. His skill as an archer partly derived from his left arm being four inches longer than the right.

Image data

Accession Number: P.285-1937
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/20.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Sam Cole
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 906 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 1.10MB
Exposure time: 1/250
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 20/1
Captured: 2017:09:04 10:21:49

Key words

19th Century archer arrows blind embossing bow and arrow bowman colour printing concubine crossbow Edo Period embossed embossing female Fitz_PDP Gakutei Japan Japanese karazuri maidens male metallic pigment pigment poem poetry poets print prostitute robes surimono Tamamo no mae Tametomo ukiyo-e weapons woodblock woodcut Yashima Gakutei

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            "Tamamo no mae appearing before Tametomo, by Yashima Gakutei"
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