Minister Yuriwaka (Yuriwaka daijin) from the Picture scrolls of ballad dramas (Mai no hon emaki)

Handscroll from the 'Picture scrolls of ballad dramas' (Mai no hon emaki) painted in ink, colours and gold on paper in Japan in the mid-17th century. This is one of six illustrated handscrolls in the Chester Beatty collection that tell stories from Japan's Kōwaka mai ballad dramas. Combining alternating sections of text and illustrations, these scrolls would have belonged to a larger set. This scroll features the story of the Minister Yuriwaka (Yuriwaka daijin). Appointed governor of Kyushu, Yuriwaka leads the army against an invading Mongol fleet, but is then stranded on a desolate island.