Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川 国芳, 1798–1861), Kajiwara Heizō Kagetoki (梶原平三景時) — 1853, colour woodblock print (nishiki-e), ōban tate-e. The print dates from Kuniyoshi’s later period, when he increasingly turned to figures from medieval history whose reputations were contested rather than heroic. Kajiwara Kagetoki is half-concealed behind a banner, with his attendants barely visible, a motif Kuniyoshi often used to express caution and political tension, and measured calculation rather than open bravado. The print is usually seen as an independent warrior portrait rather than part of a large, firmly titled series, which is why English-language catalogues sometimes give slightly varying descriptive titles.
