Rendezvous by moonlight

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi prints show the last great flowering of the Japanese woodblock print. Yoshitoshi worked across the end of the Edo period and the first decades of modern Japan, and he is widely seen as both the final master of ukiyo-e and one of its boldest innovators. Our collection of fine art prints includes many sheets from One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, along with warriors, ghosts, actors and beauties.

About Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Yoshitoshi was born in the Shimbashi district of Edo, now Tokyo, in 1839. At eleven he was apprenticed to Utagawa Kuniyoshi, one of the great woodblock masters, who gave him his artist's name. Kuniyoshi stressed drawing from life, and his collection of Western prints taught the young artist about European perspective. Yoshitoshi is now seen as his most important pupil.

In the 1860s, as the shogunate collapsed into violence, Yoshitoshi made his name with battle scenes and the graphic series Twenty-Eight Famous Murders with Verse. Commissions then dried up, and by 1871 he was severely depressed and living in poverty. In 1873 he recovered and took the name Taiso, meaning "great resurrection". He drew news illustrations for the new Tokyo papers and found steady demand during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877.

By 1885 a Tokyo magazine ranked him the leading ukiyo-e artist of the day. His last years were his most productive, bringing One Hundred Aspects of the Moon and New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts. His mental health failed again, and he died of a cerebral haemorrhage in Tokyo on 9 June 1892, aged 53.

Style and Subjects

Yoshitoshi's prints combine the old Japanese woodblock tradition with ideas borrowed from the West: close-up views, unusual angles and figures drawn with real anatomy and movement. His heroes, ghosts and courtesans are shown at moments of high feeling, often with dramatic diagonals and strong silhouettes.

His later work is calmer and more poetic. The moon series uses the moon as a thread through history, legend and theatre, with clean lines, soft gradations of ink and colour, and plenty of open space.

Famous Works

• One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (1885–1892). His great series of one hundred prints in which the moon links scenes of history, legend and poetry.
• Fujiwara no Yasumasa Playing the Flute by Moonlight (1883). A bandit freezes before a nobleman calmly playing his flute on an open moor, one of his most admired designs.
• The Lonely House on Adachi Moor (1885). A dark scene from the legend of the demon hag of Adachigahara.
• The Moon of the Moor (1880s). A sheet from the moon series showing Yasumasa and the bandit Hakamadare.
• Mount Yoshino Midnight Moon (1880s). A woman under the moon in the hills of Yoshino, from the moon series.
• New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts (1889–1892). His late series of ghosts and spirits from Japanese folklore.
• Twenty-Eight Famous Murders with Verse (1866–1869). The violent early series that first brought him wide attention.

Decorating with Yoshitoshi Prints

The moon prints are the easiest Yoshitoshi to live with. Their soft night colours and open compositions suit bedrooms, reading corners and calm Japanese-inspired or minimalist rooms, and a group of three or four from the series makes a strong gallery wall. Rainy Moon and Gravemarker Moon work well together.

His warrior and theatre prints have more energy and colour and look good in a study, hallway or games room. The ghost and murder subjects are best kept for collectors' spaces rather than family rooms.

FAQ

Who was Tsukioka Yoshitoshi?

Yoshitoshi was a Japanese woodblock artist who lived from 1839 to 1892. He trained under Utagawa Kuniyoshi and is widely regarded as the last great master of ukiyo-e.

What is Yoshitoshi's most famous series?

One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, published between 1885 and 1892, is his best-known series. New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts is equally admired.

What makes Yoshitoshi's style recognizable?

He mixed traditional Japanese printmaking with Western ideas such as close-ups, unusual angles and realistic anatomy. His figures are often caught at a moment of tension or deep feeling.

Why did Yoshitoshi change his name to Taiso?

After a breakdown around 1872, his health and fortunes improved in 1873. He took the name Taiso, meaning "great resurrection", as a sign of his recovery.

Who were Yoshitoshi's students?

His pupils included Mizuno Toshikata, Migita Toshihide and his adopted son Tsukioka Kōgyo.

Related Artists

• Utagawa Kuniyoshi: his teacher, master of warrior prints
• Kobayashi Kiyochika: woodblock artist of Meiji-era Tokyo, his contemporary
• Toyohara Chikanobu: Meiji-era woodblock artist of the same generation
• Kawanabe Kyosai: contemporary painter and printmaker of the late Edo and Meiji years
• Katsushika Hokusai: the earlier giant of ukiyo-e