{"title":"Samurai Art","description":"\u003cp\u003eA selection of Samurai\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"teppotai-hanga","title":"Teppotai Hanga","description":"\u003ch3 class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eTeppotai Hanga\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTeppotai Hanga depicts a female gunner in the service of the Oda clan, her kote carrying the Oda emblem and her matchlock held almost like a badge of victory.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI posed her with her chin deliberately raised. There is an arrogance to the expression, and that is central to the image. The great Takeda army, celebrated for its mounted warriors and battlefield reputation, was not brought down by some heroic duel between famous samurai. At Nagashino it was disciplined gunfire that helped tear through their attacks, delivered in large part by men of far more ordinary status.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat contrast interested me. The firearm had begun to alter the hierarchy of the battlefield. Skill, discipline and organised fire could now give a comparatively low-ranking gunner the means to destroy a warrior whose social position and military reputation stood far above his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe female figure is not intended as a portrait of a specific historical individual. She represents the \u003cstrong\u003eteppotai\u003c\/strong\u003e, the gun troops whose presence transformed warfare in sixteenth-century Japan. The Buddhist image behind her adds another layer to the composition, while the armour, weapon and Oda insignia anchor the work firmly within the world of the Sengoku period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer expression is therefore not accidental. She knows what has just happened.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jidaigeki","offers":[{"title":"30x45 cm \/ 12x18″","offer_id":52928461472091,"sku":"8c4dd9dd-108c-4299-b41a-e33901cec1a8","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"40x60 cm \/ 16x24″","offer_id":52928461504859,"sku":"c7c22f11-aaf8-4f58-a77a-f0ecda407458","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"60x90 cm \/ 24x36″","offer_id":52928461537627,"sku":"01eecb4d-4b84-4c32-b86c-7762cdd477d5","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0987\/6907\/6571\/files\/a6369522-49b6-4b81-81cd-c096f9aad134.webp?v=1778092351"},{"product_id":"dragon-samurai","title":"Dragon Samurai","description":"\u003cp\u003eA high-ranking samurai sits fully armed, his armour carrying a carefully repeated dragon motif that runs throughout the composition. At the centre is an imposing Yukinoshita-dō, its surface worked with embossed dragons, turning what was fundamentally a practical form of cuirass into something intended to express both status and authority.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe theme continues across the armour. Dragons also appear on the \u003cem\u003efukigaeshi\u003c\/em\u003e of the kabuto, creating a deliberate visual connection between the helmet, cuirass without overwhelming the figure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBehind him, the dragon leaves the armour and enters the wider composition. A painted screen depicts a storm dragon emerging through swirling cloud and darkness, its movement contrasting with the stillness of the seated warrior. The background is deliberately subdued, almost disappearing into shadow, so that the suggestion of the dragon is felt before it is fully seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result is a portrait concerned as much with rank and symbolism as armour. The dragon, associated with power, authority and the forces of nature, appears repeatedly but never dominates. Instead, it binds the image together, moving from lacquer and metal into the painted storm behind the samurai.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSemi-gloss Poster Paper 200 gsm\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jidaigeki","offers":[{"title":"30x45 cm \/ 12x18″","offer_id":53868644761947,"sku":"2d6df643-d1a2-47fe-99b9-7ac2c7b75fc4","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"40x60 cm \/ 16x24″","offer_id":53868644794715,"sku":"31359d10-80be-44cb-a669-ebf90a55f40d","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"60x90 cm \/ 24x36″","offer_id":53868644827483,"sku":"6db753f8-f376-45c7-bd6c-b4336ae0eb2b","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0987\/6907\/6571\/files\/b0023514-2d21-4c23-8ebb-87a49fef8fb9.webp?v=1787519682"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0987\/6907\/6571\/collections\/Screenshot2026-06-17at12.33.40_91cbe319-cae3-490d-a757-4e5fb7a939f5.png?v=1787491892","url":"https:\/\/davidthatcherart.com\/collections\/samurai-art.oembed","provider":"David Thatcher Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}