“Musha-e” depicts the heroes that appear in Japanese legends and war epics such as The Heike monogatari. From Hishikawa Moronobu, considered the father of ukiyo-e, to Utagawa Kuniyoshi of the late Edo period, many ukiyo-e artists have illustrated warriors in their works. In addition to well-known warriors such as Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Uesugi Kenshin, and Takeda Shingen, legendary fighters like Susano-o no Mikoto and women warriors such as Tomoe Gozen are also portrayed.

Musha-e has remained widely popular in Japan as this traditional genre of art has been practiced and passed down through generations.

Through a carefully curated selection from the world-renowned, first-class Japanese art collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the finest swords, action-packed ukiyo-e prints, and tsuba sword mountings with correlating imagery will be featured in this dynamic exhibition of brave heroes and their feats!