Keywords
Art History
Painting
A pictorial subject taken from Arrowhead, the play from the *kabuki jūhachiban 歌舞伎十八番 that deals with the historical story of the Soga 曽我 brothers Gorō 五郎 (1179-93) and Jūrō 十郎 (1172-93), and their vendetta against their father's murderer (see *Soga monogatari-e 曽我物語絵).
The play was first performed in 1729 by Ichikawa Danjūrō 2 二代市川団十郎. The plot features Gorō, who, after falling asleep while polishing a huge arrowhead, dreams that Jūrō is in trouble. Gorō awakens, grabs the horse of a passing farmer, and, using a radish as a whip, rides off to the rescue. Ya-no-ne was depicted in *yakusha-e 役者絵 prints, especially by artists of the Torii school *Torii-ha 鳥居派 and in several striking prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵.