YOSHIIKU – Taiheiki Eiyūden No. 34 – Menju Ieteru, – Golden Gohei Standard - Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833-1904) - Japan - Edo Period (1600-1868)

Artist: Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833–1904)
Title: Menju Sōsuke Ieteru (毛受荘助家照), also known as Menjū Katsuteru (毛受勝照) – No. 34
Series: Taiheiki Eiyūden – Biographies of the Heroes of the Taiheiki - 太平記英勇伝
Date: Japan, 1867 (late Edo period)
Publisher: Hirookaya Kōsuke (Kikujudō)
Format: Chūban, approx. 24 × 18 cm
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1. Impression and Colors

Very good impression with vibrant, well-preserved colors throughout. Menju Ieteru is shown in the full fury of battle, bursting through a shattered wooden palisade in a magnificent suit of dark blue and orange-red lamellar armor with teal-green lacing. His dramatic pose — legs planted wide, a captured spear in hand and katana at his side — conveys the explosive energy of a young warrior smashing through enemy lines. Broken timber planks and fence posts fly in every direction around him, arrows litter the ground, and the sheer violence of the composition fills every corner of the design. The multicolor printing is superb: the contrast of deep indigo armor plates against the warm orange-red and green accents, the careful gradation of teal on the helmet cords, and the golden-tan of the splintered wood are all rendered with precision.

2. State of Paper Preservation

The reverse shows remnants of traditional backing with handmade washi paper (Edo Paper) — a proven conservation method already employed by Edo-period collectors. The sheet itself shows some minor toning otherwise well perserved!
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3. About the Print and Menju Ieteru

Menju Sōsuke Ieteru (d. 1583) came from Inaba village in Owari province and served Shibata Katsuie, one of Oda Nobunaga’s leading generals, from boyhood. The text on this print tells his story.

During the campaign against the Ikkō-ikki of Nagashima, Katsuie’s golden gohei standard was captured by the enemy. Ieteru talked his lord out of throwing his life away, charged into the enemy alone, cut down dozens of men and brought the standard back.

At the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583 (Tenshō 11), the Shibata army collapsed after Sakuma Morimasa disobeyed Katsuie’s orders. As the generals began to retreat, Ieteru asked for his lord’s name and standard. He stayed behind posing as Katsuie and was killed, which let Katsuie escape. Katsuie got back to Kitanoshō castle in Echizen, where Hideyoshi’s army surrounded him, and he took his own life together with his wife, Lady Oichi. Ieteru’s death as his lord’s stand-in made him one of the best-known examples of retainer loyalty in the Sengoku period.
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4. About the Taiheiki Heroes Series

This series ranks among the most technically demanding chūban prints of the Edo period. Each print required over eight different woodblocks with precise registration and elaborate bokashi techniques. But these are not merely visually complex works of art — many of these prints hold genuine historical significance. It's like collecting pieces of a puzzle of Japanese history! The texts on the reverse and the characters depicted offer insights into one of Japan's most turbulent eras. With 100 prints in the complete series, collecting them is a true pleasure — each print tells the story of a different hero.