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Yashima Gakutei 八島岳亭

Fan Kuai and Tomoe Gozen

Maker

Yashima Gakutei 八島岳亭 (1786-1868, worked in Edo and Osaka, Japan)

Title

Fan Kuai and Tomoe Gozen

Period

Edo Period

Year

1820s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Origin: Japan

Dimensions

Shikishiban: 21.1 x 18.4 cm (8 5/16 x 7 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription Text/Poem: 箔おきの 剣舞とやみん いさむ子らが かさる人形も 黄門の会
- 浅香勝躬

幟絵の 鍾馗に似たる 樊噲も 楯なる鬼を ひしぐさまみゆ
- 北窓梅好

菖蒲草 大盃に 影うけて 巴瓦へ さすもめでたき
- 望月影成

Translation: To the brave child, the gilt figures seem to perform a sword dance and the festival dolls to act out the banquet at Kōmon
- Asaka no Katsumi

Hankai, like the figure of Shōki on a painted banner, could crush the demon on the shield
- Kitamado no Umeyoshi

The iris shades the great wine cup and points to the propitious tomoe-shaped tile
- Mochizuki Kagenari

(Translation in Carpenter, Reading Surimono (2008), p. 188)

Signature: 岳亭定岡画 Gakutei Sadaoka ga (Pictured by Gakutei Sadaoka)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of George Pierce Metcalf

Object Number

56.039.32

Type

Exhibition History

Deep Cuts
Stories from Japanese Surimono Prints
May 23, 2026 – Oct 04, 2026
Surimono from Osaka and Edo
The Pumpelly Album
May 23, 2008 – Oct 05, 2008
Marking the Occasion
Surimono from Edo and Osaka
Sep 15, 2000 – Dec 03, 2000

Label copy

The female warrior Tomoe Gozen was Japanese. Fan Kuai (d. 189 BC; Japanese Hankei) was a Chinese follower of Liu Bang (247-195 BC), who became the first Han emperor. Fan saved the emperor’s life by getting drunk at a banquet and creating a diversion that allowed the emperor to flee from an assassin. The poems, which were composed by Asaka Katsumi, Hokuso (Baiko Kitamado or Umeyoshi), and Mochizuki Kagenari, members of the poetry group led by Tsurunoya, all allude to the Boys’ Day Festival traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The print was probably made for that festival because Hankei was considered a hero and an appropriate role model for children.

Surimono
Selections from the Japanese Print Collection
Jun 09, 1998 – Sep 08, 1998
Private Images in Print
Surimono
Jul 31, 1992 – Sep 27, 1992

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Yashima Gakutei 八島岳亭 (1786-1868, worked in Edo and Osaka, Japan)
Fan Kuai and Tomoe Gozen, 1820s
polychrome woodblock print with embossing and metallic embellishment (surimono)
Shikishiban: 21.1 x 18.4 cm (8 5/16 x 7 1/4 inches)
Gift of George Pierce Metcalf 56.039.32

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