Utagawa Kuniyoshi
1844-47

Fujiwara no Hidesato, who is also known by the name of Tawara no Tota, was a famous battle commander from the Heian period (794-1185). The depicted scene is a famous episode from Tawara Tota’s life, which is known as “Slaying the Great Centipede''. The woman depicted on the right is a dragon goddess who lives in Lake Biwa who recruited Tota to kill a monstrous centipede. The part of the woman’s hair immersed in the water is depicted as the scales of a dragon.