The Hōgen Rebellion, which occurred in central Kyoto in 1156, involved a dispute over imperial succession. Although it lasted only a few hours, this skirmish and the Heiji Rebellion of 1160 had far-reaching sociopolitical consequences, marking the close of the peaceful Heian period (794–1185) and the rise of the samurai class. These screens, depicting the Hōgen incident on the right and the Heiji on the left, illustrate some of the battles that terrified Kyoto citizenry. Nobles in mansions, warriors in the streets, courtiers in ox-drawn carriages, and samurai on horseback witness the chaos, set against a bird’s-eye view of the city’s verdant hills, rivers, shrines, and temples. This is one of the earliest-known examples of a combined Hōgen-Heiji painting in large-screen format.
#8930. The Battles of the Hōgen and Heiji Eras
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8930. The Battles of the Hōgen and Heiji Eras
8853. The Battles of the Hōgen and Heiji Eras
8930. The Battles of the Hágen and Heiji Eras, Part 3
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Artwork Details
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保元平治合戦図屏風
Title:The Rebellions of the Hōgen and Heiji Eras
Period:Edo period (1615–1868)
Date:17th century
Culture:Japan
Medium:Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Dimensions:Image (each screen): 60 15/16 in. × 11 ft. 8 in. (154.8 × 355.6 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1957
Object Number:57.156.4, .5
[ Mathias Komor , New York, until 1957; sold to MMA)
New York. Asia House Gallery. "Byōbu: Japanese Screens from New York Collections," January 14, 1971–March 14, 1971.
Jacksonville Art Museum. "Samurai, Screens and Armor," December 1, 1983–January 29, 1984.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "No Ordinary Mortals: The Human and Not-So-Human Figure in Japanese Art," November 1, 1996–October 5, 1997.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Blossoms of Many Colors: A Selection from the Permanent Collection of Japanese Art," March 21–August 9, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Flowing Streams: Scenes from Japanese Arts and Life," December 21, 2006–June 3, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "No Ordinary Mortals: The Human Figure in Japanese Art," 2007–2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Ukiyo-e Artists' Responses to Romantic Legends of Two Brothers: Narihira and Yukihira," March 27–June 8, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japanese Mandalas: Emanations and Avatars," June 18–November 30, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Storytelling in Japanese Art," November 19, 2011–May 6, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Discovering Japanese Art: American Collectors and the Met," February 14 - September 27, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Kyoto: Capital of Artistic Imagination," July 24, 2019–January 31, 2021.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art," April 8, 2023–July 14, 2024.
Murase, Miyeko. "Japanese Screen Paintings of the Hōgen and Heiji Insurrections." Artibus Asiae 29, no. 2/3 (1967). pp. 193–228.
Shimada Shūjirō, ed. Zaigai hihō: Ō-Bei shuzō Nihon kaiga shūsei (Japanese Paintings in Western Collections): Shōheiga, Rinpa, Bunjinga. vol. 2, Tokyo: Gakushū Kenkyūsha, 1969, p. 32, pl. 18.
Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. Exh. cat. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1970, p. 246, cat. no. 259.
Julia Meech -Pekarik. "Twelve Japanese Screens." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 37, no. 2, Fall 1979. pp. 14–21, cat. no. 2.
Hamada Takashi 濱田隆. Zaigai bijutsu: Kaiga 在外美術 : 絵画 (Arts in western collections: paintings). Vol. 27 of Genshoku Nihon no bijutsu (kaiteiban) 27 原色日本の美術(改訂版) Tokyo: Shōgakukan, Shōwa 55 [1980], pl. 76.
Shimada Shūjirō 島田修二郎, ed. Shōheiga 4 障屏画. Vol. 4 of Zaigai Nihon no shiho 在外日本の至宝 (Japanese art: selections from Western collections) . Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1980, p. 143, pls. 86–89.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983, p. 244, fig. 9.
Ford, Barbara Brennan. "The Arts of Japan." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 45, no. 1 (Summer 1987). p. 31, cat. no. 40.
Ford, Barbara Brennan. "Japanese Art at the Met: Elegance and Tradition." Apollo 125, no. 1 (March 1987). p. 220, fig. 7.
Barnhart, Richard M. (Introduction). The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Asia. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987, pp. 26–29, pl. 10.
Tokyo Kokuritsu Bunkazai Kenkyūjo 東京国立文化財研究所, ed. Nyūyōku Metoroporitan Bijutsukan, kaiga, chōkoku ニューヨークメトロポリタン美術館,絵画・彫刻 (Painting and sculpture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) Kaigai shozai Nihon bijutsuhin chōsa hōkoku 海外所在日本美術品調查報告 (Catalogue of Japanese art in foreign collections) 1. Tokyo: Kobunkazai Kagaku Kenkyūkai, 1991, p. 61, cat. nos. 164.1-2.
Burn, Barbara, ed. Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993, pp. 192–93.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994, p. 96, fig. 9.
Watanabe, Masako. "Storytelling in Japanese Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Arts of Asia 42, no. 1 (February 2012). pp. 128–41, fig. 11.
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