Minamoto no Yoritomo hanging scroll painting 14th century

painting; hanging scroll
Object Type: painting, hanging scroll
Museum number: 1920,0713,0.1
Description: Painting, hanging scroll. Portrait of Minamoto no Yoritomo in court dress, holding sceptre and wearing sword. Ink, colours and gold on silk. Inscribed.
Producer name: School of/style of: Fujiwara no Takanobu (藤原隆信)
Cultures/periods: Muromachi Period
Production date: 14th century (late) (or later copy)
Production place: Painted in: Japan
Materials: silk
Technique: painted
Dimensions: Height: Height: 267 centimetres (mount) (mount), Height: Height: 145 centimetres, Width: Width: 114 centimetres (mount) (mount), Width: Width: 88.30 centimetres
Inscriptions: Inscription type: inscription, Inscription position: image, top left, in cartouche, Inscription language: Japanese
Inscription content: 征夷大将軍源頼朝、養和辛丑年初飜白旗於蛭嶋、遂撃沈専横平族壇浦、文治丙午歲開幕府于鎌倉、以総六十餘州之兵権、而能[…]廣元政策守　天皇撫萬民、可謂發武門之光輝、盡武士之本能也、讃曰深沈大度喜怒不形、能清[邦]土謹護朝廷、一天無事四海安寧、[…]俊行實[武]徳長馨
Inscription note: Describes "Sei-i Taishōgun Minamoto no Yoritomo" as the defeater of the Taira family and the unifier and pacifier of Japan and celebrates his military prowess and political authority.
Curator's comments
Smith et al 1990. This portrait is based closely on that attributed to the artist Fujiwara Takanobu (1142-1205), long preserved in the Jingoji Temple, Kyoto, with two other portraits (designated in Japan as 'National Treasures'). The identification of the subjects of these three has been traditional but unproved. The inscription on the British Museum.
View moreabout curator's comments:
Hizo Nihon bijutsu taikan Vol 1. Minamoto-no-Yoritomo (1147-99) is renowned as Japan's first shogun, appointed when the military government was initially established in the Kamakura period (for more information on Yoritomo, see also Plate 24, 'Takadachi Monogatari'). Of the three portraits ranked as National Treasures and preserved in Kyoto's Jingo-ji namely, those of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, Taira-no-Shigemori, and Fujiwara-no-Mitsuyoshi - that of Yoritomo is the best known. Here Yoritomo is shown holding a scepter and wearing a sword, just as he is in the Jingo-ji painting (which measures 139.4 x 111.8 cm), although his features in the present work are rather hard and lack the subtlety and fineness of the Jingo-ji painting. Another difference is that the black cloak seen here is of a solid color, whereas it is decorated with a circular pattern of arabesques in the Jingo-ji scroll. These variations suggest that the work held by the British Museum is the newer. No known works dating to the Kamakura period have such a fine silk weave with a texture close to plain silk, nor do we find any in which lapis lazuli blue fills in the background. The style of the characters in the inscription is reminiscent of the Shoren-in school, and the work may date from the Nanbokucho period, or somewhat later. In any case, this painting is important because it confirms that the scroll in Jingo-ji was considered a portrait of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo in the Nanbokucho period.

Bibliographic references: Smith et al 1990 / Japanese Art: Masterpieces in the British Museum (41). Hizo Nihon bijutsu taikan Vol 1 / Hizo Nihon bijutsu taikan (54). Tokyo National Museum 1987 / Daiei Hakubutsukan shozo Nihon-Chugoku bijutsu meihin ten (5)
Harris 2004 / Cutting Edge: Japanese Swords in the British Museum (col. pl. 1)
Location: Not on display
Exhibition history
Exhibited: 2001, 30 Jan-8 Apr, BM Japanese Galleries, 'Arts of Japan: Recently repaired paintings, Ukiyo-e IV'
Subjects: shogun
Associated names = Portrait of: Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝)
Associated places = Associated with: Jingoji Temple
Asia: Japan: Honshu: Kansai: Kyoto-fu: Takao: Jingoji Temple
Acquisition name = Purchased from: Yamanaka & Co
Funder name = With contribution from: George Eumorfopoulos. With contribution from: Art Fund (as NACF)
Acquisition date = 1920
Department = Asia
Registration number = 1920,0713,0.1
Additional IDs = Asia painting number: Asia painting number: Jap.Ptg.Add.10 (Japanese Painting Additional Number) (Japanese Painting Additional Number)