warrior prints (musha-e - 武者絵) (genre )

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Biography:

Musha-e (武者絵), literally “warrior prints,” depicted armored samurai in battle scenes and other historical or legendary settings. Popular literature and theater contributed to the blending of fact and fiction in these prints, creating fantastic figures much larger than life.

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"...when writing contracts, the bushi usually swore by especially venerated deities to honor the agreement. In yet another example, a bushi going into battle wore and undershirt on which the names of six deities were inscribed in the hope of receiving their protection. The bushi worshipped not only the deities indigenous to Japan, but also Buddhist ones; some of them even abandoned their status to pursue the way of Buddha."

Quoted from: 'Kumagai Naozane and His Descendants' by Miyazaki Fumiko, in Monumenta Nipponica Vol. 47, No. 4 (Winter, 1992), Sophia University.