Nagao Kagetora Attacking Nagao Harukage
Utagawa Yoshitora Japanese
Not on view
Nagao Kagetora was the birthname of Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578), one of the most famous warriors of Japan’s Warring States period. In the late 1540s, Kagetora, at only fifteen years of age, wrested control of the Nagao clan from his older brother Harukage. In this triptych, Kagetora appears on horseback at lower right as his troops march on his brother’s castle. A banner visible just to the left of his head bears the Chinese character 毘, the first character of the name of the Buddhist guardian deity Bishamonten, of whom Kagetora was a fervent devotee.
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