Artist: Utagawa Toyohiro
Title: Two Korean men holding a Tiger / Dragon banner
Date: 1795 c.
Format: Chuban;  9 3/8'' x 7''; Woodblock print
 
Condition: Fine color, condition, and impression; minor rubbing
 
(No. 5) From a set of eleven or twelve prints of an untitled procession of a Korean tribute delegation to Edo. This print is one of the prints missing from the set of nine currently in the Katherine Ball Collection of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museum of San Fransico. 
 
The tiger and dragon are ancient symbols of yin and yang, forces that combine to make up the universe. Ancient Chinese Taoist philosophy explains the world in terms of two forces yin (from the ancient Chinese word for shady) and yang (from the word for bright).