Mushae Warrior Samurai Monk Demon Print

This print was made in 1847 by Hiroshige II published by Mera Watanabe its title is "yorimistu entering Mount Oe" and it is a musha e (print of warriors or historical exploit).
It was a triptych but there are only the other two parts, the missing part is a woman who is sitting next to a waterfall. This print has some holes in different places this does not alter the beauty of the work.

The story depicted is that of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, a great warrior and demon hunter of the 10th century. This print retraces an episode of this hero with his companions where they had to go fight a demon who was raging in the region of Kyoto, more precisely in the Oe mountains. The warriors disguised themselves as ascetic monks to go unnoticed by the demon and his band of scoundrels with whom he lived. There they met a captive who was washing her clothes at the waterfall, explaining to her their intention to fight this demon, she helped them and gave them useful information for their mission.

On the left page in order of appearance, Watanabe no Tsuna 渡辺綱 (loyal samurai obliged to Minamoto no Yorimoto 953-1025), Kintaro 坂田金時 (folkloric character, sort of hercules and a wild child) and Minamoto no Yorimitsu 源頼光 (Hero and belonging to the famous Minamoto clan 944-1021)
On the right page in order of appearance, Fujiwara no Yasumasa 平井保昌 (flute-playing aristocrat), Usui Sadamitsu 碓井貞光 (a loyal samurai of Yorimitsu), Urabe no Suetake 卜部 季武 (Samurai in the service of Yorimitsu 950-1022 ) and last character is a god 住吉大明神 who took the form of an old man carrying bundles of wood , he advised Yorimitsu to wear a double helmet during his final fight with the demon )

Hiroshige Utagawa II , shingenobu 1826–1869 , he is generally neglected because he followed his master Hiroshige very faithfully and focused on the same motifs. It is this proximity and the similarity of the signatures that led the first Western researchers to deny his existence. Born in 1826, he would be, like his master, the son of a fireman. It is unknown at what age he entered Hiroshige's workshop to become one of his few students. Hiroshige gave him the name Shigenobu, and he proved to be his most brilliant student. Shigenobu was clearly Hiroshige's best student, as he received numerous commissions for books and prints. In the early 1850s, he sometimes signed his works "Ichiryūsai mon" (student of Ichiryūsai), a reference to Hiroshige's artist name. From about 1853 to 1858, Shigenobu used the artist name Ichiyūsai in his works. After Hiroshige died in late 1858, he married Hiroshige's sixteen-year-old daughter, Otatsu, and inherited the name Hiroshige. Like his teacher, he used the artist names Ichiryūsai and Ryūsai from then on. The marriage was dissolved in 1865, and Hiroshige II left Edo for Yokohama and changed his name from Hiroshige to Ryūshō/Risshō. At this time, he also began using the artist name Kisai. In late 1858, shortly after Hiroshige's death, he worked with the latter's former artistic partner, Kunisada, on theThroughout his career, he designed numerous series of views of Edo, most notably "Thirty-six Views of the Capital" (Tōto sanjūrokkei), published in 1861–1862. In addition to his prints, Hiroshige II also produced a number of fine paintings. Works from his later years are rare. To earn a living, he turned to decorating lanterns, kites, and especially tea chests (chabako) for export, earning him the nickname "Hiroshige of the tea chests" (ChabakoHiroshige). Hiroshige II died on September 17, 1869, at the age of 44.