Title
Nitta no Shiro Tadatsune encountering the Goddess of Mount Fuji in a cave (Fuji no hitoana genkyu no zu)
1885
Artist
Shirai Toshinobu II
1866 – 1903
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Details
- Alternative title
- Nitta Tadatsune seeing an apparition in a cave
- Place where the work was made
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Japan
- Period
- Meiji period 1868 - 1912 → Japan
- Date
- 1885
- Media category
- Materials used
- woodblock print; ink and colour on paper, triptych
- Dimensions
- 37.9 x 75.9 cm
- Credit
- Yasuko Myer Bequest Fund 2018
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 287.2018.a-c
- Copyright
- Artist information
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Shirai Toshinobu II
Works in the collection
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About
The Meiji period (1868–1912) was a time of rapid modernisation. Yet historical figures, ancient myths and traditional Shintō beliefs were used to help unify the nation and legitimise the new regime. Many images of the era present a similar synthesis of mythological, historical and modern elements. This striking print by Shirai Toshinobu II, a student of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, exemplifies the trend. It invokes ancient religions and Japan’s warrior past by illustrating a conflation of the Buddhist goddess Kannon and the spirit of Mount Fuji appearing before a famous 13th-century warrior named Nitta Tadatsune. It also hints at modern nationalism, as the goddess’s halo resembles the war flag used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1870 to 1945.
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Places
Where the work was made
Japan
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Exhibition history
Shown in 2 exhibitions
Japan Supernatural, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 02 Nov 2019–08 Mar 2020
Correspondence, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 10 Sep 2022–2024
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Provenance
Christies, London, pre 14 Aug 2018, London/England, purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Aug 2018.