Takadachi 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 'Takadachi', a glorified account of the final battle of hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189).