The print illustrates the separation between Yoshitsune and Shizuka,
as described in the play Yoshino Yama, or Mount Yoshino, one of the most famous and most tragic scenes in Japanese folklore.
Yoshitsune was the famous
general that lead the Minamoto clan to total victory over their Taira enemies and opened the way to the Minamoto supremacy, only to fall from grace when his older half-brother Yoritomo, the leader of the Minamoto clan, turned against him envious of his exploits
and afraid to loose his leadership.
Forced to flee with a small group of loyal and famous followers, Yoshitsune prevented his lover Shizuka, a shirabyoshi or
sacred dancer, from fleeing with him. He gave her a small drum as a token of his love and trusted her to a faithful retainer, Sato Tadanobu, also depicted in the image.
The remainder of the play tells how this retainer, in fact a fox spirit that had taken the form of the real Tadanobu, follows Shizuka, irresistibly attracted by the drum (which had been made from the skin of his ancestors), and saved her from the
villainous Hayami Tota.
