Anonymous | The Battle of Gojo Bridge | Momoyama - Edo period, 17th century

One of the most iconic duels in Japanese legend and lore. Both trained to a superhuman degree in the martial arts, the clash between the Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189) and Benkei (1155-1189) resulted in the latter pledging loyalty to the young warlord and their deep lasting companionship during the battles and aftermath of the Genpei War (1180-1185).

After vowing to collect one thousand swords from the unworthy hands of arrogant samurai, Benkei has only one more sword left to win. The sound of a distant flute at night catches his attention. The melody is coming from a young man, his face partially obscured by a veil. Benkei challenges him and they walk to the Gojo Bridge (Gojo ohashi) spanning the Kamo River in Kyoto to begin their faceoff. Benkei is armed with his seven weapons: halberd (naginata), sword (katana), broad axe (masakari), rake (kumade), sickle (nagigame), wooden mallet (hizuchi), saw (nokogiri) and iron staff (tetsubo). Yoshitsune is depicted with a conventional display of dexterity, he is effortless poised on one foot on a finial on the bridge, bearing a sword in one hand and a fan decorarted with a hi no maru sun disc in the other.

The diagonal alignment of the bridge bears resemblance to the bold depictions of the Uji Bridge, celebrated as one of the quintessential subjects of Momoyama period (1573-1615) painting. Dominating the entire scene, the bridge allows extensive use of gold-leaf to frame the two figures and provide an extraordinary depth to the planar composition when viewed in concertina or by the shimmering light of candle flame. Although the subject was popular among artists of the musha-e [lit. pictures of warriors] genre, particularly in later woodblock prints from the eighteenth century, screens depicting this subject are rare.