Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to main navigation

Soga Brothers

Kakemono, unique work, 202 x 50 cm
Product number: 5420

Sold – no longer available

This piece was a handmade one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.

You might like these pieces

Details about the sold piece

  • Height 202 cm
  • Width 50 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Wood
  • Material Honshi Silk
  • Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
Sold

No longer available

Description

The "Soga Monogatari" is among Japan's great historical tales of revenge: it tells how the brothers Soga no Gorō and Soga no Jūrō waited for years for the opportunity to avenge the murder of their father. This kakemono shows the two brothers in tense poses, facing one another, at the moment of utmost determination, their hands close to their swords.

Against a restrained, washed, misty background with a suggested fence, the painter renders the figures' armor and weapons with fine lines and subtle color accents. The reduced palette draws the eye entirely to the postures of the two contenders. The work on silk bears a small red artist's seal and dates from the Shōwa period.

The border in warm gold-brown with a floral pattern and the wooden roller ends complete the classical mounting. A narratively rich motif for collectors who are enthusiastic about the great legends of Japanese history and who take pleasure in figure-rich, tension-filled painting.

Frequently asked

No – as a one-of-a-kind piece it exists in a single example only.
We would be glad to look for one. Get in touch with the details of the object you are looking for and we will see what we can do.
Because the two pieces of information speak about different things: the period designation describes the object – support, colors, condition – while the signature reflects which name appears on the painting. In most cases there is no attempt at deception behind this, but rather Japanese painting training: copying from workshop models was the curriculum for centuries, an utsushi is regarded as a bow to the teacher, workshops signed with the master's name, and artist names were passed down within a school. Such a hanging scroll is therefore not a forgery, but a hand-painted one-of-a-kind that continues the formal language of its school – just not the work of the famous name, and priced accordingly. We explain this in detail in the guide Why does a kakemono often bear the signature of an artist long deceased?.