Ishiyakushi: Yoshitsune's Cherry Tree and the Shrine of Noriyori/ 石薬師義経さくら範頼の祠(Ishiyakushi, Yoshitsune sakura Noriyori no Hokora)
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Description:
Nishiki-e (Mutlicolored Print), ink and color on paper. Two peasants work by the side of a stream under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom that takes up the left side of the composition. To the far right you can see the red torii gates to the shrine of Noriyori. In the distance a village sits at the foot of green hills and forests. The title of this print refers to the Cherry Blossom as Yoshitsune’s Cherry tree. This is a reference to the well known military commander Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who famously fought in the Genpei war in the twelfth century. The cherry blossom has little to do with the actual historical version of Yoshitsune but is instead connected to the Kabuki play that fictionalized his life Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees (Yoshitsune Senbonzakura.) In the play the blooming cherry blossoms of Mt. Yoshino is a central location for the events of the story. Further connecting this print to the Minamoto clan is the inclusion of the shrine of Noriyori, who was the younger brother of Yoshitsune. It is likely because this tree is outside a shrine to Noriyori that it is referred to as Yoshitsune’s cherry tree.
