Image Credits

Project Manuscript

Source title: Shudō tsuya monogatari 衆道通夜物語
Owning institution: Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Call number: GEN MSS VOL 701
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

Project Map of Yonezawa

Source title: Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen 御城下絵図享保十年
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum
Call number: 上杉文書 1877
URL: N/A
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum

Landing page

All images in this section are taken from the project manuscript and reproduced with permission of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Introduction: A Tragic Tale in an Eighteenth-Century Manuscript

Source title: Nanshoku ōkagami 男色大鑑
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University Library
Call number: 52070519～52070525
URL ① ②
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Captions: Love of youths was a common topos in popular fiction such as Ihara Saikaku's Great Mirror of Male Love [...]; The tragic and sometimes violent outcomes of samurai same-sex love affairs were a stock motif in popular fiction [...]

Source title: Edo dōchū ezu (Yonezawa–Edo) 江戸道中絵図 (米沢～江戸）
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library
Call number: 諸家資料・堀尾家文書021
URL　
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library
Caption: The castle town of Yonezawa, seat of the Uesugi rulers [...]

Source title: Edo dōchū ezu (Edo–Yonezawa) 江戸道中絵図 (江戸～米沢）
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library
Call number: 諸家資料・堀尾家文書22
URL　
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library
Caption: Travel the road to Edo through Yonezawa domain [...]

The remaining images in this section are taken from the project manuscript (see top of the image credits).

Introduction: True-Record Books: Scandals, Gossip, and Rumors in Early Modern Japan

Source title: Bakemono taiheiki 化物太平記
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 208-627
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Bakemono taiheiki (The monsters' chronicles of great peace, 1804) was banned for its irreverent portrayal of the legendary warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi [...]

Source title: Shōtoku bukan 正徳武鑑
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 800-14
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Some basic genealogical information about warrior houses [...]

Source title: Edo umare uwaki no kabayaki 江戸生艶気樺焼
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 207-169
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: A yomiuri vendor hawking a broadsheet about a love affair [...]

Source title: Ōsaka doshi zu 大坂卯年図
Owning institution: University of Tokyo
Call number: 政争 N001 / マイクロ番号 361001/O-COL-Ｋ-260
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo
Caption: Osaka Castle under Siege (1615)

Source title: Shokoku ōjishin ōtsunami sanpen 諸国大地震大津波三編 (from Kasui fūsai zasshū 火水風災雑輯)
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 寄別 8-3-2-10
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Edo Hit by Earthquake and Tsunami (1854)

Source title: Edo Asakusa o-kura mae onna adauchi 江戸浅草御蔵前女仇討
Owning institution: Tokyo University
Call number: 敵討 N003 / マイクロ番号 362009/ O-COL-Ｋ-391
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo
Caption: Revenge Killing in Edo's Kuramae District

Source title: Yoshū Matsuyama nite sōtōji shussan no koto 予州松山にて双頭児出産の事
Owning institution: Waseda University Library
Call number: 文庫10 08063 0001
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Waseda University Library
Caption: Child with Two Heads Born in Matsuyama (1836)

Source title: Negishi naka mura no hyakushō Motokichi no segare Motojirō neko ni korosareru (根岸中村の百性元吉の忰元二郎猫に殺される）
Owning institution: National Museum of Japanese History
Call number: H-1492-3-43
URL: N/A
License: Reproduced with permission of the National Museum of Japanese History
Caption: Peasant Killed by Cat

Source title: Kitaamerika gasshūkoku teiō yori kenjō mitsugimono shinajina 北亜墨利加合衆国帝王ヨリ献上貢物品々
Owning institution: Waseda University Library
Call number: 文庫08 C0874 0002
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Waseda University Library
Caption: Perry's Gifts Make Waves with the Japanese (1854)

Source title: Kōshakuba no Fukai Shidōken 講釈場の深井志道軒/ Fukai Shidōken Lecturing
Owning institution: William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Call number: 11.19631
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Caption: The storyteller Shidōken performing "old war tales" (ca. 1750s) [...]

Source title: Kyōkun zōnagamochi 教訓雑長持
Owning institution: Kobe University Library
Call number: 913-67-3
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: Edo-style graffiti on the wall of a house, from Kyōkun zōnagamochi [...]

Source title: Edo jidai rakusho ruijū 江戸時代落書類聚
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 836-31
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Late Edo-period graffiti satirizing the Tenpō Reforms of the 1840s, reproduced in Edo jidai rakusho ruijū (1915) [...]

Source title: Keisei kaidan fuyu no tsuki 傾城怪談冬廼月
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 207-1052
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: A kashihon’ya booklender shouldering his bundle of books [...]

Source title: Keian Taiheiki 慶安太平記
Owning institution: Arthur Tress Collection of Japanese Illustrated Books, University of Pennsylvania
Call number: Tress Anon 1
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Scene from the "true-record" book Keian Taiheiki (1790), an account of the Keian Rebellion (1651) [...]

Source title: An'ei jitsurokuden 安永実録伝
Owning institution: Waseda University Library
Call number: ヘ13_03362
URL
License: Reproduced with permission from Waseda University Library
Caption: An'ei jitsurokuden (Edo period), first volume in a set of 25 formerly owned by the lending library Sumiyoshiya Ubei [...]

The remaining images in this section are taken from the project manuscript (see top of the image credits).

Introduction: In Search of the Truth: Historical Records

Source title: Bugenchō Genroku san-nen 分限帳元禄3年
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library
Call number: 地域史料 KG 003001
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library
Caption: A roster of Yonezawa retainers for Genroku 3 (1690)

Source title: Tokurin genpiroku 徳鄰厳秘録
Owning institution: National Archives of Japan
Call number: 181-0074
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Scene of a beheading, from Tokurin Genpiroku (1814) [...]

Source title: Musashi abumi むさしあぶみ
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 841-35
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Musashi abumi (1661) was an account of the Great Fire of Meireki [...]

The remaining images in this section are taken from the project manuscript and project map of Yonezawa (see top of the image credits).

Introduction: Brave and Beautiful Boys: Samurai and Same-Sex Culture

Source title: Samurai-gumi sekiji 侍組席次
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library
Call number: 諸家資料・山吉家文書5
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library
Caption: N/A (header image)

Source title: Nanshoku kinomezuke 男色木芽漬
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University
Call number: 52071446～52071451
URL
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Caption: A group of monks entertain themselves with several kabuki actors in a teahouse [...]

Source title: Warai Imagawa 笑今川
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University
Call number: 52071223　DDC913.51/W37
URL
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Caption: "Flower viewing in the world of male love" [...]

Source title: Nanshoku hiyoku no tori 男色比翼鳥
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: り-17
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Admiring kabuki actors on stage [...]

Source title: Amayo no sanbai kigen 雨夜三盃機嫌
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University
Call number: 52070677～52070678
URL
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Caption: An actor review [...]

Source title: Edo nanshoku saiken/Kiku no sono　江戸男色細見/菊の園
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 京-339
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: A guide to nanshoku teahouses in the surroundings of the Nakamura-za Theatre in Edo [...]

Source title: Nanshoku yamaji no tsuyu 男色山路露
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University
Call number: 52070943～52070944
URL
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Caption: Two men kissing youths [...]

Source title: Chigo no sōshi 稚児之草紙
Owning institution: British Museum
Call number: 2013,3001.1/Jap.Ptg.Add.1308_018
URL
License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Caption: An acolyte or chigo [...]

Source title: Shudō monogatari 衆道物語
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: ね-36
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Samurai with youths [...]

Source title: Wakashū yūrakuzu 若衆遊楽図
Owning institution: Tokyo National Museum
Call number: A-645
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: A group of wakashū entertaining themselves in an elegant setting [...]

Source title: Chionji ate Konoe Sakitsugu shojō 智恩寺宛近衛前嗣書状
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum
Call number: 上杉家文書 A1990-002-1710
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum
Caption: Konoe Sakihisa's letter (1559) [...]

Source title: Nanshoku kinomezuke 男色木芽漬
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: ろ-64
URL ① ② ③ ④
License: Public domain
Caption: Hand-colored scene of nanshoku-related samurai violence [...]; Scene of nanshoku-related samurai violence [...]

The remaining images in this section are taken from the project manuscript (see top of the image credits).

Introduction: How to Win His Heart: Male-Male Love and Courtship Etiquette

Source title: Fumi no hayashi 文のはやし
Owning institution: Staatsbibliothek Berlin
Call number: 37627 ROA
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: A love letter and a letter box [...]

Source title: Jotsū yōbunshū 女通用文集
Owning institution: Tōsho bunko, Tokyo Shoseki Textbook Museum
Call number: 一般，シ2-2・1-15-2466 / DIG-TSHB-10245
URL
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Caption: How to seal a letter [...]

Source title: Ensho tebikigusa 艶書手引草
Owning institution: Ueda City Library
Call number: 花月文庫，語学57
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Ueda City Library
Caption: A model letter from a samurai youth to his adult male partner [...]

Source title: Nanshoku masukagami 男色十寸鏡
Owning institution: Waseda University Library
Call number: ヲ06 01542
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Waseda University Library
Caption: Man writing a love letter to a youth, from Nanshoku masukagami [...]

Source title: (Fūryū) Sugata-e hyakunin isshu 風流／姿絵百人一首
Owning institution: British Library
Call number: or65.a12
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: The image accompanying Taira no Kanemori's poem in Hishikawa Moronobu's Sugata-e hyakunin isshu [...]

Source title: Onna geimon sansai zue 女芸文三才図会
Owning institution: National Institute of Japanese Literature
Call number: ヤ5-429-1～5
URL
License: Public Domain
Caption: Taira no Kanemori's poem in the textbook for women Onna geimon sansai zue [...]

Source title: Nanshoku masukagami 男色十寸鏡
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University
Call number: 52071812　NDC9:913.52/SA66
URL
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Caption: A youth receiving a love letter from a man, from Nanshoku masukagami [...]

Source title: Inu tsurezure 犬つれつれ
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University
Call number: 52071404　DDC913.51/I59
URL
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Caption: Two adult samurai and a youth cutting their upper arm and thigh with a blade [...]

Source title: Shunkyō tenarai shussei sugoroku 春興手習出精双六
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 本別9-27
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: A Boys' Love Primer

The remaining images in this section are taken from the project manuscript (see top of the image credits).

Resources: Mapping the Yonezawa Domain

Source title: Nihonkoku tairyaku bukan no zu utsushi 日本國大畧武鑑之圖寫
Owning institution: Rare Books and Special Collections, University of British Columbia Library
Call number: G7961 .G46 1758 H2
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of British Columbia Library
Caption: Nihonkoku tairyaku bukan no zu utsushi (Copy of the outline map of the military houses of Japan, ca. 1757)

Source title: Dewa no kuni (Yonezawa-ryō) 出羽国（米沢領）
Owning institution: National Archives of Japan
Call number: 特083-0001
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: This hand-drawn shogunal map of the Yonezawa domain from 1838 provides a more detailed view of the Uesugi territory (...)

Source title: Yonezawa-jō honmaru no zu 米沢城本丸図
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum
Call number: A2009-024
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum
Caption: Main enclosure of Yonezawa Castle (ca. 1879-1906), Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum

Resources: Urban Space & Society in Genta's Yonezawa

The Samurai Town

Source title: Map of Dewa Province and Yonezawa Domain, 1664–1869
Owning institution:
Call number: N/A
License: Aafke van Ewijk
Caption: Map of Dewa Province and Yonezawa Domain (1664–1869).

Source title: Date Masamune zō 伊達政宗像, by Tosa Mitsusada 土佐光貞 (1738–1806)
Owning institution: Reigen-in 霊源院, Tōfukuji 東福寺, Kyoto
Call number: N/A
URL
License: Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
Caption: Portrait of Date Masamune, Tosa Mitsusada 土佐光貞 (1738–1806). Reigen-in, Tōfukuji, Kyoto. Public domain.

Source title: Toyotomi Hideyoshi zō 豊臣秀吉像, by Kanō Mitsunobu 狩野光信 (1565–1608)
Owning institution: Kōdaiji 高台寺, Kyoto
Call number: N/A
URL
License: Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
Caption: Portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (detail), Kanō Mitsunobu 狩野光信 (1565–1608). Kōdaiji, Kyoto. Public domain

Source title: Uesugi Kagekatsu zō 上杉景勝像
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: N/A
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2026-087). Not public domain.
Caption: Portrait of Uesugi Kagekatsu (1556–1623). Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Shōhō nenchū Edo ezu 正保年中江戸絵図
Owning institution: National Archives of Japan 国立公文書館 (Naikaku Bunko 内閣文庫)
Call number: 177-0665
URL
License: Public domain (National Archives of Japan)
Caption: Shōhō nenchū Edo zu 正保年中江戸絵図 (Map of Edo from 1644), copied in 1853. National Archives of Japan. Public domain.

Source title: Edo Nihonbashi 江戸日本橋, from the series Fugaku sanjūrokkei 富嶽三十六景
Owning institution: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Department of Asian Art)
Call number: Accession no. JP1295 (Rogers Fund, 1936)
URL
License: Public domain — Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access (CC0)
Caption: The Nihonbashi bridge area with a view of Edo Castle and Mount Fuji, the three symbols of the city. Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎, Edo Nihonbashi 江戸日本橋 (Nihonbashi in Edo), from the series Fugaku sanjūrokkei 富嶽三十六景 (Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji), 1830–1832, color woodblock print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain.

Source title: Naoe Kanetsugu zō 直江兼続像
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: N/A
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2026-087).
Caption: Portrait of Naoe Kanetsugu, 16th century. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Stone embankments along the Mogami River, Yonezawa
Owning institution: N/A — photographs by the author
Call number: N/A
License: © Thomas Monaghan
Caption: Stones laid as part of Naoe Kanetsugu's embankments can still be seen lining the Mogami River. Photographs by the author, 2023.

Source title: Diagram of the early modern retainer structure, after Bungenchō, Genroku 3
Owning institution: N/A
Call number: N/A
License: Aafke van Ewijk
Caption: Diagram of Yonezawa's early modern retainer structure.

Details of the castle-town map

Source: Project map of Yonezawa — see Recurring sources above.

Fig. 12: Map of Yonezawa highlighting the moats and Mogami River. Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen 御城下絵図享保十年, 1725. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Fig. 13: Poorer, smaller samurai residences on the outskirts of Yonezawa. Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Fig. 14: Large residences for high-status retainers near the castle. Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Fig. 15: A commoner and temple district near the Mogami River. Each of the twelve gray blocks here contains between nine and thirty-two buildings. Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Fig. 16: The western outskirts with the settlements of suburban foot-soldiers (harakata gōshi 原方郷士). Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

The staggered approach from the north

Source: Project map of Yonezawa — see Recurring sources above.

Caption: The staggered approach to Yonezawa castle from the north via the Mogami highway. The map is oriented with north to the left. Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

The network of water channels

Source: Project map of Yonezawa — see Recurring sources above.

Caption: Yonezawa's dense network of water channels can be clearly seen on the map. Here, some of them are outlined in white. Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Water channels in present-day Yonezawa
Owning institution: N/A — photographs by the author
Call number: N/A
License: © Thomas Monaghan
Caption: Modern water channels in Yonezawa roughly following the path of the early modern network. Photographs by the author, 2023.

Source title: Bridge over the outer moat, Yonezawa Castle
Owning institution: N/A — photograph by the author
Call number: N/A
License: © Thomas Monaghan
Caption: Present-day bridge over the inner moat (honmaru) of Yonezawa Castle, which is similar to its early modern design. Photograph by the author, 2023.

Source title: Moat of Yonezawa Castle
Owning institution: N/A — photograph by the author
Call number: N/A
License: © Thomas Monaghan
Caption: Inner moat of the castle today. Photograph by the author, 2023.

The Commoner Town

Source title: Hinawajū (sanjū-monme zutsu), mei "Seigo" 火縄銃（三十匁筒）銘「清五」
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: A1992-012
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2024-111)
Caption: A heavy, thirty-monme caliber (112.5g—the weight of the ball fired) matchlock gun. Gunsmithing was one among many of the strategic industries the Uesugi developed in Yonezawa. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Izumi meisho zue 和泉名所図会, vol. 1
Owning institution: National Diet Library Digital Collections, Japan
Call number: 839-79 (DOI 10.11501/2563477)
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: A gunsmith's workshop in Sakai from Akisato Ritō 秋里籬島 (text) and Takehara Shunchōsai 竹原春朝斎 (illustrations), Izumi meisho zue 和泉名所図会, 1796, woodblock printed book, vol. 1. National Diet Library, Japan. Public domain.

Source title: Kinsei akinai tsukushi kyōka awase 近世商賈盡狂歌合
Owning institution: National Diet Library Digital Collections, Japan
Call number: 831-125 (DOI 10.11501/2538328)
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Wandering peddler. In Ishizuka Hōkaishi 石塚豊芥子 (1799–1862), Kinsei akinai tsukushi kyōka awase 近世商賈盡狂歌合, 1852, woodblock printed book. National Diet Library, Japan. Public domain.

Source title: Zakoba uoichi no zu 雑喉場魚市の図, from Naniwa meisho zue 浪花名所図会
Owning institution: National Diet Library Digital Collections, Japan
Call number: 寄別1-9-1-6 (DOI 10.11501/1303481)
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Print depicting the fish market in Osaka. Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797–1858), Zakoba uoichi no zu 雑喉場魚市の図 (The fish market at Zakoba), from the series Naniwa meisho zue 浪花名所図会 (Famous views of Osaka), 1829–1839, color woodblock print. National Diet Library, Japan. Public domain.

Source title: Ukiyoe Suruga-chō gofukuya zu 浮絵駿河町呉服屋図
Owning institution: Mie Prefectural Museum 三重県総合博物館 (MieMu)
Call number: 資料番号 194
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Mie Prefectural Museum (granted 14 Oct 2026; application OX00005290).
Caption: Forerunner to the department store, Mitsui Echigoya at Suruga-chō in Edo. Utagawa Toyoharu 歌川豊春 (ca. 1735–1814), Ukiyoe Suruga-chō gofukuya zu 浮絵駿河町呉服屋図 (Kimono fabric store in Suruga-chō), 1768, color woodblock print. Mie Prefectural Museum 三重県総合博物館蔵. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Yōsan no shōrei 養蚕の奨励
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: A1970-008
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2024-111) and of the copyright holder (consent 24 Sep 2024)

Caption: In the latter part of the eighteenth century, sericulture was encouraged, as depicted in this modern painting. Kanō Fuminobu 狩野文信 (dates unknown), Yōsan no shōrei 養蚕の奨励 (Encouragement of sericulture), Modern period, color on paper. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

The domain wax works

Source: Project map of Yonezawa — see Recurring sources above.

Caption: Map of the Tsutsuya workshop, to the north of the commoner town. The domain wax works is marked “Rōuchi tsutsuya” 蝋打筒屋 (“The Tsutsuya wax-pressing workshop”) (highlighted). Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen 御城下絵図享保十年, 1725. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Tenpō ichibugin 天保一分銀
Owning institution: N/A (photograph by Wikimedia Commons user As6673, 2008)
Call number: N/A
URL
License: CC BY-SA 3.0, reuse allowed.
Caption: A silver coin from the Tenpō period (1830–1844). Photograph by As6673, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Source title: Yonezawa han hansatsu 米沢藩藩札
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: A2013-011
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2026-114, 21 Oct 2026)
Caption: Yonezawa han hansatsu 米沢藩藩札, eight sheets. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (A2013-011). Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Daimyō gyōretsu ezu 大名行列絵図 (detail)
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: A1992-013
URL: N/A
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2026-087)
Caption: An Uesugi procession setting out on sankin kōtai. Daimyō gyōretsu ezu 大名行列絵図. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Stages of the road out of Yonezawa (from two separate volumes of one album)

Source title: Edo dōchū ezu (Yonezawa–Edo) 江戸道中絵図（米沢～江戸）
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library 市立米沢図書館
Call number: 諸家資料・堀尾家文書 021 (management no. FX021001)
URL
Description: 1 vol., yokohanchō format, 13.4 × 19.5 cm, 90 leaves, late Edo period. A bird's-eye picture-map of the road from Yonezawa to Edo, showing the highways and the appearance of the post towns.
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library (permit R6-13)

Source title: Edo dōchū ezu (Edo–Yonezawa) 江戸道中絵図（江戸～米沢）
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library 市立米沢図書館
Call number: 諸家資料・堀尾家文書 022 (management no. FX022001)
URL
Description: 1 vol., yokohanchō format, 15.1 × 22.0 cm, 95 leaves, late Edo period.
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library (permit R6-13)
Caption: Detail from Edo dōchū ezu 江戸道中絵図. Yonezawa City Library. Reproduced with permission.

Procession Route

Source: Project map of Yonezawa — see Recurring sources above.

Caption: Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Edo dōchū ezu (Edo–Yonezawa) 江戸道中絵図（江戸～米沢）
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library 市立米沢図書館
Call number: 諸家資料・堀尾家文書 022 (management no. FX022001)
URL
Description: 1 vol., yokohanchō format, 15.1 × 22.0 cm, 95 leaves, late Edo period.
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library (permit R6-13)
Caption: Details from Edo dōchū ezu 江戸道中絵図, late Edo period. Yonezawa City Library. Reproduced with permission.

The Great Bridge on the castle town map

Source: Project map of Yonezawa — see Recurring sources above.
Caption: The Great Bridge over the Matsukawa, at the southeastern edge of town. Detail from Gojōka ezu Kyōhō jū-nen 御城下絵図享保十年, 1725. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Gojōka ezu, Meiwa 6 明和6年「御城下絵図」
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Library 市立米沢図書館
Call number: 地域史料 159
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Library (permit R6-13)
Caption: Writing in red marks the seisatsu no tsuji 制札辻, "the crossroads of the official edicts noticeboard" at a crossroads in Ōmachi, east of the castle. Detail from Gojōka ezu 御城下絵図, 1769, manuscript map. Yonezawa City Library. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Kōsatsu 高札
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: A1993-018
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2024-111)
Caption: A domain notice (kōsatsu) of 1788 posted in the villages, restricting the felling of protected timber and requiring neighboring villages to turn out against mountain fires. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Yonezawa-jō horisarai ezu 米沢城堀浚絵図
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: A1999-059-1825
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2026-114, 21 Oct 2026)
Caption: East-oriented plan for the dredging of Yonezawa's moat system, 1711. Segments of the moat are highlighted and annotated with measurements, with yellow sections appearing to mark the sections of the moat to be cleared. The reverse includes a slip indicating that the map was sent back from Edo, showing that Yonezawa required shogunal permission for these works. Yonezawa-jō horisarai ezu 米沢城堀浚絵図. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Kinkarakawa tabakoire 金唐革煙草入 Gilt leather pipe case, tobacco pipe, and pouch.
Owning institution: Tokyo National Museum 東京国立博物館
Call number: I-2785
URL
License: ColBase terms of use.
Caption: Tobacco pipe, pipe case, and pouch, late Edo–early Meiji period. Tokyo National Museum. Gift of Kameyama Sogetsu, I-2785. ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Source title: The gobyō 御廟, mausoleum of the Uesugi, Yonezawa
Owning institution: N/A — photograph by the author
Call number: N/A
License: Thomas Monaghan
Caption: The gobyō housing the graves of the Uesugi. Yonezawa, Yamagata, Japan. Photograph by the author, 2023.

Source title: Dewa Yonezawa-han Uesugi-ke daimyō hikeshi gyōsō zukan 出羽・米沢藩上杉家大名火消行装図巻
Owning institution: Edo-Tokyo Museum 東京都江戸東京博物館
Call number: 96200336
URL ① ②
Description: Illustrated handscroll, eighteenth century, 14.5 × 1230 cm.
License: Reproduced with permission of the Edo-Tokyo Museum (granted 15 Oct 2026). Permit no. 8-1-91
Caption: The Yonezawa domain's daimyo fire brigade (daimyō hikeshi 大名火消) in procession in Edo. Detail from Dewa Yonezawa-han Uesugi-ke daimyō hikeshi gyōsō zukan 出羽・米沢藩上杉家大名火消行装図巻 (Illustrated scroll of the Uesugi daimyo fire brigade of Yonezawa domain, Dewa Province, in processional dress), eighteenth century, illustrated handscroll, 14.5 × 1230 cm. Edo-Tokyo Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Uesugi Shrine, Yonezawa
Owning institution: N/A — photograph by the author
Call number: N/A
License: Thomas Monaghan
Caption: Uesugi Shrine. Photograph by the author, 2023.

Source title: Tōkyō meisho Yayosu-chō keishichō hikeshi dezome hashigo nori no zu 東京名所八代洲町警視庁火消出初階子乗之図
Owning institution: National Diet Library Digital Collections, Japan
Call number: 寄別7-1-2-4 (DOI 10.11501/1307304)
URL
License: Public domain; no application needed. 転載時の表記例: 広重『東京名所八代洲町警視庁火消出初階子乗之図』,荒井喜三郎,明治９. 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1307304 (参照 2026-10-15)
Caption: Firefighters in early Meiji Japan. From Utagawa Hiroshige III 三代目歌川広重 (ca. 1842–1894), Tōkyō meisho Yayosu-chō keishichō hikeshi dezome hashigo nori no zu 東京名所八代洲町警視庁火消出初階子乗之図 (Firefighters climbing ladders at a New Year's celebration in Yayosu [Yaesu], a famous place in Tokyo), published by Arai Kisaburō 荒井喜三郎, 1876, triptych of color woodblock prints (left leaf). National Diet Library, Japan. Public domain.

Source title: Yudonosan dōchū ryakuzu 湯殿山道中略図
Owning institution: Homma Museum of Art 本間美術館, Sakata
Call number: C000171-1961
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of the Homma Museum of Art (permit 本美第28号, 14 Aug 2026)
Caption: Distributed throughout the archipelago as a guide for pilgrims, this brocade print (nishiki-e 錦絵) of the route to Mount Yudono shows the eastern approach through the post town of Yōka-machi 八日町, with the Zaō range and Yamadera beyond. During pilgrimage periods, Yōka-machi was filled with Yudono pilgrims (more than three hundred to a single inn at the height of summer), and its shops profited from the sale of Dewa Sanzan hanging scrolls, rouge, lacquer, ceramics, and medicines. The white-robed, sedge-hatted figures who are seen crowding the T-junction are likely Three Mountains pilgrims (sanzan dōsha 三山道者). Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797–1858), Yudonosan dōchū ryakuzu 湯殿山道中略図 (Map of the path to Mount Yudono), late Tenpō era (1830–1844), large-format nishiki-e print. Homma Museum of Art, Japan. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Okuni kabuki zu byōbu 阿國歌舞伎圖屏風
Owning institution: Kyoto National Museum 京都国立博物館
Call number: A甲546 (Important Cultural Property 重要文化財)
URL ① ② ③
License: Public domain (seventeenth-century work); image via ColBase / Kyoto National Museum
Caption: Early portrait of Izumo no Okuni. From Okuni kabuki zu byōbu 阿國歌舞伎圖屏風 (Okuni Kabuki screen) (detail), seventeenth century, six-panel folding screen, color and gold leaf on paper. H. 88 cm × W. 268 cm. Kyoto National Museum. Public domain. ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan, https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/kyohaku/A%E7%94%B2546.

Source title: Kōsaka Iroku dōchū nikki 香坂伊六道中日記 (hanami illustration)
Owning institution: Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum 米沢市上杉博物館
Call number: A2007-051
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum (permit 2026-114, 21 Oct 2026)
Caption: Hanami parties below Narushima Hachiman Shrine, northwest of Yonezawa. Parties sit on red felt with stacked lunchboxes among the cherry trees while others climb the stone stairs to the shrine above. From Kōsaka Iroku dōchū nikki 香坂伊六道中日記 (Travel diary of Kōsaka Iroku), Kōka 4 (1847), manuscript, one volume. Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum. Reproduced with permission.

Source title: Shichitōshū 七湯集
Owning institution: National Archives of Japan 国立公文書館 (Naikaku Bunko 内閣文庫)
Call number: 173-0195, volume 8
URL
License: Free reuse under the National Archives of Japan’s secondary-use terms
Caption: Bathers at Ashinoyu, one of the seven Hakone hot springs. From Shichitōshū 七湯集 (Collection of the Seven Hot Springs), compiled by Rōka Sanjin 弄花山人, 1811, illustrated manuscript, 10 vols. The Hakone scene illustrates a practice common across Japan. National Archives of Japan.

Source title: Looking east from Yonezawa Castle
Owning institution: N/A — photograph by the author
Call number: N/A
License: Thomas Monaghan
Caption: Looking east from Yonezawa Castle today. Photograph by the author, 2023.

Resources: Archery in Early Modern Japan

Source title: Ehon musha waraji 絵本武者鞋
Owning institution: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Call number: 2013.808
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: Kitao Shigemasa, Ehon musha waraji [...]

Source title: Buke chōhōki 武家重宝記
Owning institution: Waseda University Library
Call number: ケ05 00099
URL ① ② ③
License: Reproduced with permission of Waseda University Library
Caption: Arrows with a turnip-shaped whistle [...]; Three different types of targets [...]; Namura Jōhaku, Buke chōhōki [...]

Source title: Obusuma Saburō emaki 男衾三郎絵巻
Owning institution: Tokyo National Museum
Call number: A-11889
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: Artist unknown, Obusuma Saburō emaki [...]

Source title: Hiden kisha no sho 秘伝騎射書
Owning institution: Waseda University Library
Call number: ケ05 00521
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Waseda University Library
Caption: Author unknown, Hiden kisha no sho [...]

Source title: Inu-oumono hin'i kisei 犬追物品位騎制
Owning institution: Waseda University Library
Call number: ワ03 03645 0173
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of Waseda University Library
Caption: Artist unknown, Inu-oumono hin'i kisei [...]

Source title: Nihon kogi 日本古義
Owning institution: National Diet Library
Call number: 841-22
URL
License: Public domain
Caption: A portrait of Heki Masatsugu [...]

Source title: Tōsei tagami no ue当世誰が身の上
Owning institution: Ranpo Collection, Rikkyo University
Call number: DIG-RKRP-176
URL
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Caption: Two adolescent samurai shoot at a small target.

Source title: Fukagawa Sanjūsangendō tōshiya no zu 深川三十三門堂通矢之図
Owning institution: British Museum
Call number: 1906,1220,0.117
URL
License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Caption: An archer takes part in a tōshiya competition at the Fukagawa Sanjūsangendō […]

Source title: Zukai shahō sanbusho 図解射法三部書
Owning institution: Tōhoku University Library
Call number: 癸B8-4/3
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: Hirose Yaichi, Zukai shahō sanbusho […]

Source title: Teikin ōrai zusan 庭訓往来図賛
Owning institution: Tokyo Gakugei University Library
Call number: 望月文庫T1A0/71/68
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: Teikin ōrai zusan […]

Source title: Arrow-stand and arrow (untitled)
Owning institution: British Museum
Call number: 1969,0527.15
URL
License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Caption: A set of small arrows with blunt arrowheads for yōkyū.

Source title: Jinrin kinmozui 人倫訓蒙圖彙
Owning institution: Kobe University Library
Call number: 一般，721-8-Z//1～7
URL
License: CC BY 4.0
Caption: Artisan specializing in yōkyū equipment.

Source title: Dōgi musha zukushi: yaba ni Nasu no Yoichi 童戯武者尽矢場に那須の与一
Owning institution: William S. and John T. Spaulding Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Call number: 21.6576
URL
License: Reproduced with permission of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Caption: In this print from a series of parodies of famous warriors, Nasu no Yoichi is depicted fooling around with a yatori-onna.

Research for this page was generously funded by the Dutch Research Council.