Kusunoki Tamonmaru Masashige and Yao no Bettō Tsunehisa from an untitled series, warriors in combat

This print is part of a triptych, a set of correlated images on three panels that are connected to each side, and draws inspiration from Katsushika Hokusai’s former interest as a manga artist. Prior to publishing manga, Hokusai apprenticed as a bookseller and became a pupil of painter and printmaker Katsukawa Shunshō at the age of 18. In Shunsho’s school, he experimented with warrior prints and book illustration.