Antihero/Hero

           Utagawa Kuniyoshi is a considered one of the last great masters of ukiyo-e, Japanese style woodblock prints and paintings depicting everyday life. Kuniyoshi produced approximately 10,000 ukiyo-e images before dying in his mid-60s (Lent 690). Selections of Eight Views: Miyamoto Musashi is on display at the Honolulu Museum of Art. The three panels together depict Musashi in battle against multiple sword-yeilding opponents while on armed with long plank of wood. With ukiyo-e focusing on everyday life, Kuniyoshi portrayal of the battle includes a female spectator. This inclusion shows the viewer that warrior of the skill and strength that Musashi has can be revered while simultaneously seen as a murderer by those attached to his victims.

           Miyamoto Musashi dominates this image and is shown larger than any of his opponents. The men around him are either injured, dead or trying to figure out an attack unlike the ones that failed those already defeated. A scene from the beginning of his early days, Musashi is not yet an acclaimed hero, but a young novice striving to prove himself. The duality of this image lies in the woman in the right corner. While women samurai were in existence, the attire of this woman shows that she was a bystander not trained for combat. Kuniyoshi shows Musashi as a strong capable hero. Though outnumbered, Musashi handles the battle with an improvised weapon. The center of this image encourages the viewer to cheer on the hero, Musashi.

            The edge of this image reminds the viewers that those defeated may have had something to fight for as well. “A closer look yields complex layers of meaning, issuing partly from the dual function of Ukiyo-e art as accessible, democratic images by and for everyday people, and as the new, spirited progeny of a long and highly literate courtly tradition” (Blood 198). The single woman causes questions to arise about those fighting. Why are so many needed to fight one man? What has caused these men to go through such lengths and to try to stack the odds against Musashi? Where originally Musashi seems to be defending himself against a cowardly charge, Kuniyoshi’s inclusion of this woman causes the audience to ponder whether the opponents are acting in defense. Where the viewer will see Musashi as a hero, the same sentiment cannot be attributed to the loved ones of the fallen. The perception of Musashi is reliant on the viewer. The need for a spectator is essential in order to determine the difference between a hero and antihero.

            Kuniyoshi displays the gray area that occurs when determining the difference between a hero and antihero. The existence of casualties can sway the viewer from seeing a hero. Similarly, motivation or lack thereof can keep a hero from being realized. The antihero works through good intentions. There is possible gain from the actions of the antihero. A difference arises due to the antihero being free from the moral code that governs a hero. There is a rationality that allows the antihero to work towards a conclusion with the understanding that casualties will happen and not allowing that to hinder progress. Musashi sought establishment as a samurai and walked a path with no shortage of destruction. Being a samurai fortified his home. Musashi was a hero for many throughout his life. Kuniyoshi reminds the viewer that Musashi was not able to become a hero without first conducting himself as an antihero.