Beneath a flowering cherry tree, a warrior in red armour stands with his sword drawn as another, clad in green, rushes towards him. Arrows lie scattered across the ground and several men have fallen, yet the pale blossoms continue to drift through the scene. Shunpō sets the force of the encounter against the stillness of its spring setting.

The painting takes its title from the celebrated retainers of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Shunpō gives particular care to their armour: the coloured lacing, decorated plates and layered garments remain distinct even amid the movement of the fight. The unusually large format lets the figures approach life size, lending the encounter an immediacy seldom found in a hanging scroll.

The work was shown at the 1902 joint exhibition of the Japan Painting Association and the Japan Art Institute, where it received a second-class commendation.