A picture book of eighty warrior families
繪本ハ十宇治川
ehon yaso ujigawa

This book was published in the year Tenmei 6 (天明六 = 1786) by Tsutaya Jūzaburō (Kōshodō 耕書堂). The author is Kitao Shigemasa 北尾 重政. The preface is signed 四方山人 (Shiho Sanjin), which is a pen name of Ōta Nanpo 大田 南畝 leader of kyōka poets. Nanpo also wrote the preface of Hokusai Manga volume 1. The sceneries are illustrated by kyōka poems.

We present here volume 1 of the book, which was published in 3 volumes. There was also a single-volume edition. It was followed in 1787 by another warrior picture book (Ehon musha waraji 絵本武者鞋) by the same author and publisher, and with the same cover.

Click on the cover to access the book. The names of the warriors in Japanese are given in the slideshow, together with the names of the poets when identified, and links to Wikipedia when available.

繪本ハ十宇治川 上

The single-volume edition is available at Waseda.
The edition in 3 volumes is available at Hosei University.

The title of the book suggests that about 80 warriors are pictured in the three volumes. This is not the case, there are far fewer, as shown by the names that are mentioned in the three volumes and listed in the table below. Furthermore, some warriors, like Yoshitsune, Kintoki, Yoshiie and Soga Tokimune, are in several scenes. Many of these warriors won their fame in the Genpei war. There are about 24 warriors in the sequel (Ehon musha waraji), who are not named. One can nevertheless recognize red-skinned Kintarō, Benkei with a mallet, Watanabe no Tsuna fighting with an Ibaraki-dōji, Ichirai Hoshi and Tsutsui Jōmyō Meishū at the Uji bridge, Taira no Tomomori with an anchor and Nasuno Yoichi shooting down the flag of a ship with an arrow.

volume 1 volume 2 volume 3
日本武尊 Yamato Takeru 臥 䨮問 舩酒賛 ??? 鍾馗 Shōki the Plague-Queller
鎌倉将軍頼朝 Kamakura Shogun Yoritomo 蜀君玄徳 [Liu Bei] Xuande/Gentoku (Chinese warlord)
孔明 Kong Ming/Kōmei
関羽 Guan Yu (general under Liu Bei) playing weiki/go
薩摩守忠慶 Satsuma no kami Tadanori (1144-1184) 源義經 Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189)
武藏坊辨慶 Musashibo Benkei (1155-1189)
戸樫左衛門 Togashi Saemon
公時 Kintoki (tenth century)
武藏坊辨慶 Musashibo Benkei (1155-1189)
御曹子牛若丸 son Ushiwakamaru (childhood name of Yoshitsune 1159-1189)
無宮太夫 Mukandayu (Atsumori 1169–1184) 曽我祐成 Soga Sukenari (1172-1193)
同時致 Soga Tokimune (1174-1193)
秩父庄司重忠 Chichibu Shoji Shigetada (1164-1205)
悪七兵衞 景清 Akushichibei Kagekiyo (died 1196)
ハ幡太郎義家 Hachimantarō Yoshiie (1039-1106) 源頼光 Minamoto no Raikō (Minamoto no Yorimitsu 948-1021) and 5 retainers :
坂田公時 Sakata No Kintoki
平井保昌 Hirai no Yasumasa
碓井貞光 Usui no Sadamitsu
渡邉綱 Watanabe Tsuna
卜部季武 Urabe no Suetake
曾我五郎時致 Soga Goro Tokimune (1174-1193)
朝比奈三郎義秀 Asahina Saburo Yoshihide
素盞嗚尊 Susanoo-no-Mikoto (kami) 源義家 Minamoto No Yoshiie (1039-1106)
安部宗任 Abe no Munetō (1032-1108)
猪早太忠澄 Ino Hayata Tadasumi
源三位頼政 Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106-1180)
鎮西ハ郎為朝 Chinzei Hachirō Tametomo (1139-1170) 平惟茂 Taira No Koremochi (11th century) killing a demon
源九郎判宮義經 Minamoto Kurō hangan Yoshitsune (1159-1189)
静御前 Shizuka Gozen (1165-1211)
能坂長範 Kumasaka Chōhan (legendary thief from the Heian period)
武内宿祢 Takenouchi no Sukune 新田義貞 Nitta Yoshisada (1301-1338)
礬會 Hankai