Between 1885 and 1892 Yoshitoshi published a series of 100 individual woodblock prints depicting figures from Japanese and Chinese legend, history, literature, and theater. These are the contents pages for the series, designed by the calligrapher,...
courtesans; women; kimonos; hairstyles; hair ornaments; fans (costume accessories); children (people by age group); lanterns (lighting devices); tables (support furniture); porches; men (male humans)
A Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarters courtesan named Takao looks out at the moon and the bird flying by, thinking perhaps of her lover. Her costume and hairstyle closely resemble that the 17th century Takao portrayed by Yoshitoshi in his series "One...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); armor (protective wear); Buddhas
An armored samurai is wrestling a red demon and multitude of skeletons under the gaze of a grinning yellow Buddha. Toki Motosada has seized the demon by the wrist and is throwing it down. Moths flutter around them under a full moon.
Where...
history paintings; spears (weapons); executions (events)
The label on verso reads: "He entered into enemy castle as a spy, but was captured and crucified but continued to defend his master and spoke against his enemies til his last breath." - artist Nonin Ikkisai. In 1575 Horii Tsuneemon, a retainer of...
A woman, slightly bent over, grasps her hair at the river's edge. Kiyohime was the daughter of an innkeeper at the village of Masago. Anchin was a devout monk at Dojo Temple on the banks of the Hidaka river. Each year Anchin stayed at Kiyohime's...
flags; men (male humans); military uniforms; ships; rifles (long guns); boats; swords; banners; Built complexes and districts
Following the destruction of the Japanese legation buildings in Seoul and the escape from Incheon of the minister and his staff, the Japanese government decided to retaliate. Hanabusa Yoshimoto was sent back to Korea with 3 warships and several...
An image of a woman holding a severed head. The beautiful but evil woman who ruined a nation by seducing its ruler away from his duties was a familiar subject during certain periods of Chinese and Japanese history. In the popular imagination, the...
The 11th century poet Suo no naishi, whose poem about "That spring night / Haru no yo" is included among the famous "Collection of One Hundred Poets / Hyakunin isshu," is shown encountering a Buddhist nun in the woods.
men (male humans); armor (protective wear); curtains; elderly
An image of an old man, bare-chested, with a knife in his hand, throwing a cup (which shatters) against a pillar. Yoshitoshi's Warriors Trembling with Courage is the transitional series from the clamor of Yoshitoshi's early prints-with their...
The medieval warrior Mori Rikimaru stands with his bloodied spear and two severed heads slung around his neck as trophies. On May 15, 1868 two thousand troops loyal to the shogunate fought a desperate battle at Ueno, in Edo, near the tombs of some...
A woman, in distress, is jumping in a river. The moon is setting and two white herons rise from the water near her. The story behind the image is: When her father lost his money and was jailed, Chikako tried to win his release. To prove herself a...
When only eleven years old, Michizane composed his first poem in Chinese. The plum blossom was Michizane's favorite flower, and he would often write about its fragile petals and delicate fragrance. Here the artist has depicted the young poet...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); natural landscapes
The Indian prince Daruma is seated on a pile of straw in a ruin, absorbed in meditation. The moon shows through a hole in the wall with a vine silhouetted in front of it. Daruma is wrapped in a richly colored red robe and has finely detailed curly...
In China and Japan, the constellations Vega and Altair are called the Weaver Maiden and the Herdsman. Legend says that after Shokiyo, the Weaver Maiden, fell in love with and married Kengi, the Herdsman, she became distracted and failed in her duty...
portrait; men (male humans); helmets; mountains; bays (bodies of water)
The warlord Takeda Shingen sits on a deerskin-covered stool wearing an ornate helmet decorated with antlers and flowing white hair; his sword's scabbard is made of tiger skin, and his boots of bearskin. Shingen attempted repeatedly to seize the...
When he was sixteen, Prince Usu of Yamato was sent by his father to suppress a rebellion by the Kumaso, an aboriginal tribe to the west. Before leaving the prince visited his aunt, from whom he borrowed female clothes. Upon his arrival at the...
portrait; men (male humans); robes (main garments); stringed instruments (musical instruments); biwa; women; trees
After the Hogen Rebellion in 1156, the courtier and musician Fujiwara no Moronaga (1137-1192) was exiled to the island of Shikoku. That autumn he consoled himself with a visit to Mt. Miyaji. Yoshitoshi depicts Fujiwara no Moronaga playing a biwa by...
portrait; men (male humans); robes (main garments); stringed instruments (musical instruments); biwa; women; trees
After the Hogen Rebellion in 1156, the courtier and musician Fujiwara no Moronaga (1137-1192) was exiled to the island of Shikoku. That autumn he consoled himself with a visit to Mt. Miyaji. Yoshitoshi depicts Fujiwara no Moronaga playing a biwa...
Portrait; men (male humans); dresses (garments); armor (protective wear)
The warlord Uesugi Kenshin, dressed in full armor, waits in camp before battle. Seated on a deerskin-draped stool beside a blue and white windbreak, he looks over his shoulder at a flock of birds flying past a full moon. A poet, as well as soldier,...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); robes (main garments);
In Japanese and Chinese legend eight magical cassia trees grow on the moon. Their red leaves in autumn are said to give the harvest moon its color. The trees' seeds bestow immortality and also give the power of invisibility to those who eat them....
