A JAPANESE MIXED-METAL BRONZE TRAY DEPICTING MINAMOTO NO YOSHITSUNE AND MUSASHIBŌ BENKEI

Meiji period, 19th century, Japan

The central scene depicts Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189) seated in armour beneath a flowering plum tree, accompanied by his celebrated warrior-monk retainer Musashibō Benkei, who holds an inscribed signboard. The episode was a well-established subject in Japanese art and appears in Edo-period prints and other representations of the two warriors.

According to the legend, Yoshitsune ordered Benkei to place a notice beside the tree warning that anyone who broke one of its branches would forfeit a finger. The inscription carried a second meaning, traditionally understood as a warning to the warrior Kumagai concerning the killing of the young Taira warrior Atsumori.

The episode combines the military history of the Genpei Wars with the wordplay and moral allusion characteristic of later retellings of Yoshitsune’s life.

The figures are worked in applied mixed-metal relief against a patinated bronze ground, while the surrounding border is enriched with polychrome enamel flowers and gilt decoration.

The combination of bronze, mixed-metal work and enamel reflects the technical range of Japanese metalworkers during the Meiji period, when historical and legendary warrior subjects were frequently translated into elaborate decorative objects.