Two Men Fighting on a Roof, Two Men and Two Women Below

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Two Men Fighting on a Roof, Two Men and Two Women Below

Artist Toyohara Kunichika (Japanese, 1835-1900)

Date19th Century

Dimensions13 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.

Mediumwoodblock print

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineCarl Spitzer

Object number

1940.2

Not on View

Label TextA pair of warriors is shown here fighting on a roof. Leaders of opposing clans, they are unaware that they are brothers who were separated in childhood. The story comes from Japanese writer Kyokutei Bakin’s (1767–1848) The Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nanso, also known as Hakkenden—one of the world’s longest novels at 106 volumes. The complex plot centers on eight samurai who are half-brothers resulting from a supernatural marriage between a princess and her father’s dog. The brothers are all heroes, and each represents a different Buddhist virtue in this bestselling adventure novel, which Bakin finished in 1842 after 30 years of writing.