Volume 2 of Illustrated Later Three Years' War

This illustrated scroll portrays a war that took place in the Tohoku region during the late Heian period, during the 11th century. It depicts a battle fought between members of the powerful Kiyohara clan, and the intervention of the military commander Minamoto no Yoshiie. This scroll is the second of three surviving scrolls. The scroll is characterized by its sheer size. At around 45 centimeters from top to bottom, it is a large work, even for an illustrated scroll. The figures in the scroll are correspondingly large and we can clearly make out their expressions and features. The usage of color is also worthy of note, with the scenes of battle drawn briskly using bright colors. This color scheme is typical of illustrated scrolls from the Nanbokucho period. Furthermore, this scroll also contains the names of the people who wrote the text, which explains the contents and records the date of production and the names of the artists.

The artists behind most paintings or texts from that time remain unknown, thus making this a very valuable work. We know this scroll's synopsis was drafted by a priest from Mount Hiei. The fact that this battle was drawn from the perspective of a non-military person adds to scroll's enjoyment. This illustrated scroll is one of the three surviving examples, depicting battles that broke out in today's Tōhoku region during the late Heian period (794–1192). The size of this scroll is notably larger than most other scrolls. The samurai are portrayed in armor in various styles, each with unique facial features.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.