NARA EMAKI.

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Yurikawa Daijin ("The Legend of Grand Minister Yuriwaka"). An opulently hand-painted scroll (nara emaki) depicting the story of Yuriwaka Daijin, a tale of a warrior lord that has been compared to the Odyssey. We have traced only two scrolls with the same story in the West and three in Japan.The legend of Grand Minister Yuriwaka can be traced back to at least the mid-16th century, when it appeared in dances and Noh theatre. It remained popular into the 19th century, with the character featuring in commercial woodblock prints, notably Utagawa Kuniyoshi's Fukaya (1852) from the 69 Stations of the Kisokaidō series.In the story, Yuriwaka is dispatched to repel an invading Mongol army. Although victorious, he is betrayed by a subordinate, marooned on an island, and stripped of his lands. His wife prays to the gods, who divert a boat to rescue him. Yuriwaka eventually returns home and proves his rightful status by stringing and firing an enormous iron bow. Since the early 20th century, Japanese scholars - most notably Tsubouchi Shōyō - have remarked on parallels between the legend and Homer's Odyssey.This scroll was likely produced by an artist of the Tosa school, which is characterized by strong outlines, opaque colour, and subjects drawn from Japanese literary history. Five other examples are known, held by the Tokyo National Museum, Osaka Ohtani University, Japan Women's University Tomoyama Bunko, the Chester Beatty Library, and the British Library. All date from the early Edo pe

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