Original Japanese Woodblock by Eisai Spring Battle of Honnoji Warrior 1868LS#206

Eisai (英斎): 春永本能寺合戦 (Shunei Honnoji Kassen) — 1868

A single panel from a warrior triptych in the Osaka series depicting the Spring Battle of Honnoji (春永本能寺合戦) — the 1582 betrayal and death of Oda Nobunaga at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto, one of the most dramatic turning points in Japanese history and a perennial subject in warrior print culture. The composition is rendered from an elevated vantage looking down across a fortified compound at night: a red multi-story watchtower and heavy timber gate dominate the middle ground, cannon are positioned in the courtyard, and long ranks of defenders are drawn up behind the walls. Attackers armed with muskets, spears, and bows press the assault up earthwork embankments from the lower left as gunsmoke billows across the scene. The complete triptych's right panel, documented in dealer records, confirms the title cartouche 春永本能寺合戦 in a distinctive purple-to-green gradation. Engraved by Miyanao (彫宮直); published by Kiya Sakutarō (木屋作太郎板), Kakehara Shinchi, Osaka.

• Title: 春永本能寺合戦 (Shunei Honnoji Kassen — "Spring Battle of Honnoji")
• Artist: Eisai (英斎)
• Engraver: Miyanao (彫宮直)
• Publisher: Kiya Sakutarō (木屋作太郎板), Kakehara Shinchi, Osaka
• Date: 1868
• Format: Oban — single panel from triptych, approximately 14" × 9.5" (36 × 24 cm)

Very good; colors bright and well-preserved. Light foxing to edges consistent with age. No tears or creasing noted.

A striking Osaka warrior print capturing the Honnoji Incident — one of Japanese history's most celebrated moments of betrayal — offered here as a single panel; the complete triptych is documented in institutional and dealer records.