PERFECTION OF PERPLEXION

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Posted in Art, paintings, Utagawa Kuniyoshi by okkame on May 23, 2010

 

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Posted in Art, paintings, Utagawa Kuniyoshi by okkame on May 23, 2010

 

Musashi’s having a killing time on the back of a whale

 

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Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Posted in Art, paintings, Utagawa Kuniyoshi by okkame on May 23, 2010

 

The famous ronin Miyamoto Musashi killing a giant nue.

 

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on Gojo bridge

Posted in Art, paintings, Utagawa Kuniyoshi by okkame on May 17, 2010

 

Uchiwakamaru fighting Benkei on Gojo bridge

  

Uchiwakamru is  Minamoto no Yoshitsune‘s childhood name, who is one of  the coolest, the most beloved in japanese history and a menacing looking dude facing down him is Benkei who’s no less  endearing than soon-to-be his lifetime master,  said Yoshitsune.

This painting depicts their well-known  encounter where a pale-skinned wee small Yoshitsune boy (take into consideration the average height of jap males in that time was around 140-150 cm)  eventually defeated extra-hulky Benkei (from wikipedia;  At the age of seventeen, Benkei was said to have been over two metres  or – 6.6 feet – tall) and made him his lifetime loyal underling.  so,  in a size sense, it was basically a fight between a child and an unsually huge grown-up man and the child beat the shit out of  the grown-up.  believe it or not, but it’s just a tiny bit of stories telling the uncanny strength of Yoshisune; “a Monk (but, as you notice in the picture, not an orthodox one) Benkei is said to have posted himself at Gōjō Bridge in Kyoto, where he deprived every passing swordsman of his weapon, eventually collecting 999 swords. On his 1000th duel, Benkei was defeated by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a son of the warlord Minamoto no Yoshitomo.”

taking after his mother  Dokiwa Gozen, the much buzzed-about beauty of that era,  Yoshisune also boasted pretty features. awkward timing to cut off key tapping yet i guess you had it enough to savor the main dish and it doesn’t really cater to my snobby self to babble about stuff  i barely know. my blog will focus on visuals more than words but my kindness always  seems to speak louder than it should.  it’s not a bad thing, is it?

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