Soga Brothers Night Attack – Utagawa Kunisada

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786–1865)
Date: c. 1852 (Edo Period)
Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Oban size, approximately 14 x 9.5 inches (Image); 22 x 16 inches (Framed)

This powerful woodblock print, featuring the signature “Toyokuni ga” within a red Toshidama cartouche, was created by Utagawa Kunisada (who took the name Toyokuni III in 1844). The scene depicts the legendary Soga Brothers, Soga no Juro Sukenari (top) and Soga no Goro Tokimune (bottom), during their famous “Night Attack” to avenge their father’s death. This specific sheet is likely part of a triptych or diptych illustrating a Kabuki performance of the Soga Monogatari (Tale of the Soga Brothers).

The composition is filled with dramatic tension: Juro holds a flaming torch aloft, illuminating the brothers as they prepare for battle. Their identities are reinforced by their iconic family crests (mon) visible on their robes, the butterflies (ageha-no-cho) for Goro and the plovers (chidori) for Juro. The actors portrayed are likely the superstars of the mid-19th century, such as Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Goro and Bando Shuka I as Juro. The print features two circular censor seals (Hama and Magome) and a date seal, which confirms its production around 1852, a period when Kunisada was the most commercially successful artist in Japan.