Samurai - Gallery

From the 12th-century rise of the bushi class to the abolition of the warrior caste in 1876, the samurai occupy a singular place in Japanese history and global imagination. This collection brings together woodblock prints, paintings, photographs and manuscript illustrations covering more than seven centuries of samurai life — battle scenes, formal portraits of daimyō, studies of armour and weaponry, and rare studio photographs from the late Edo and Meiji periods. Notable works include ukiyo-e prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, hand-tinted albumen photographs by Felice Beato, and illustrations from the Japanese schools of the Edo period. All images are available in high resolution for editorial, commercial and academic licensing, with full rights clearance and institutional provenance where applicable. Ideal for: history publishers, documentary producers, book cover designers, museum and exhibition materials, and academic texts on East Asian history, military history, and Japanese art.