Fragment from Tengu zōshi emaki

A group of men defend themselves by shooting arrows at approaching tengu, demon figures with bird-like facial features and wings believed to live in the mountains.

This painting was originally part of a handscroll or a book, which was then cut out and remounted as a hanging scroll. The men are labelled with their names, revealing that they are minor characters from The Tale of the Heike, a medieval Japanese epic about the Genpei War (1180–1185), a civil war between two clans.