Utagawa Yoshitsuya, Yorimitsu Tries to Capture Hakamadare by Destroying His Magic

Notes: Each sheet signed: Ichieisai Yoshitsuya. Published by Tsutaya Kichizo (Koeido), 4th month 1858. In the left panel, the fearless warrior and lord Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021) is leading his faithful comrades through Yakeyama Pass - the Four Guardian Kings (Shintenno), Urabe Suetake, Hirai Yasumasa, and Watanabe no Tsune. The warriors are looking for the notorious thief Hakamadare Yasusuke who sits calmly in a tree at the right; attempting to avoid capture by using magic to create a dramatic illusion of a battle between a bear and a giant serpent. The same print is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.