Artwork

Ryugu Tamatori Hime no su|Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King

Ryugu Tamatori Hime no su|Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King is an ink print by the Baroque artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. It dates from 1853 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The print depicts an episode from Japanese folklore in which the diver Tamatori rescues Fujiwara no Kamatari’s stolen jewel by retrieving it from the Dragon King’s palace beneath the sea. Kuniyoshi’s composition shows Tamatori, an ama diver, swimming through a storm-tossed ocean populated by dragons, fish, frogs, and a pieuvre, while a dragon occupies Ryūgū-jō, the palace of the Dragon King. The scene visualizes the perilous journey beneath waves symbolized by stylized wind waves, underscoring the myth’s themes of courage, sacrifice, and the crossing between human and supernatural realms.

Technique & Style

The scene is further animated by the depiction of wind waves, reflecting the dramatic action typical of Kuniyoshi's mythological subjects.

Created in 1853, this work is a triptych executed in the ukiyo-e tradition as a nishiki-e woodblock print. The medium consists of ink and color applied to paper, characteristic of the musha-e (warrior picture) genre within Japanese printmaking. The composition dynamically depicts the mythological narrative of the ama diver recovering a jewel from the Dragon King's palace.

Stylistically, the print features a complex arrangement of figures including the diver, the dragon, and various sea creatures such as fish, frogs, turtles, and an octopus. The scene is further animated by the depiction of wind waves, reflecting the dramatic action typical of Kuniyoshi's mythological subjects.

History & Provenance

Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King is a triptych of woodblock prints produced by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1853, rendered in ink and color on paper as a mythological scene. The work was created during the mature phase of Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e career, when nishiki-e and musha-e subjects were prominent in his output.

The print is now held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is documented under that institution's holdings of Kuniyoshi's work. No earlier ownership history, commissioning patron, or intermediate provenance is recorded in the available sources.

The work titled Ryugu Tamatori Hime no su, also known as Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King, is a woodblock triptych printed in 1853 by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. It belongs to the mythology genre and portrays figures from the Japanese legend of Ryūgū‑jō. The piece is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is catalogued as part of the museum’s ukiyo‑e holdings.

No specific accession number is recorded in the available documentation, and the print has not been listed in major exhibition catalogues according to the sources consulted.

Overview

This triptych of woodblock prints, titled Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King (Ryugu Tamatori Hime no su), was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1853. Rendered with ink and color on paper, the artwork illustrates a dramatic episode from Japanese mythology, characteristic of Kuniyoshi's interest in heroic narratives. It presents a dynamic confrontation between a human figure and a powerful sea creature within a fantastical underwater realm.

Context

Utagawa Kuniyoshi frequently explored themes of heroism, folklore, and the supernatural in his ukiyo-e prints. This work exemplifies his fascination with epic battles and encounters between humans and formidable creatures from Japanese legend, particularly sea monsters. Such bold and imaginative narratives resonated with the public during the Edo period, establishing Kuniyoshi as a prominent artist known for his dramatic and emotionally charged compositions.

Artist & collection

Artist

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Kuniyoshi grew up in old Tokyo when the city was still called Edo. His dad ran a silk shop, but Kuniyoshi loved anything with pictures, scrolls, screens, comic books. He talked his way into the Utagawa school, a kind of…