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Yoshitoshi (1839 - 1892)

Moon at Horin Temple: Yokobue

Series: One Hundred Views of the Moon
Medium: Woodblock Print
Date: 1890
Size (H x W): 14.5 x 9.75 (inches)
Publisher: Akiyama Buemon
Seals: Taiso
Signature: Yoshitoshi
Condition: Very good color, impression and state, embellished with oxidation and embossing.

SOLD

Description

A young 12th century noble named Tokiyori fell in love with Yokobue, a lady-in-waiting of the empress. When his father forbid their union due to her low rank, Tokiyori could not bring himself to disobey his father or marry another woman so, at the age of nineteen, he became a monk at Horin Temple. Yokobue journeyed to the mountain temple, hoping to change his mind. Tokiyori heard her sobs, but he refused to see her, afraid that he would lose his determination to become a monk. Yokobue was turned away and later became a nun herself. In this print, Yokobue leaves the temple, hands clasped and wiping her unremitting tears with her arm. In the distance, two intertwined trees symbolize two lovers, but fade into the mist along with Yokobue’s hope for happiness.

About the artist

Considered one of the last great masters of ukiyo-e, Yoshitoshi Tsukioka's woodblock prints are known for their eerie and imaginative nature. Yoshitoshi worked in a Japan undergoing rapid change, straddling the domains of the old, feudal system of the Edo period and the new, modern world of the Meiji period. His powerful imagination and originality imbued his prints with a sensitivity and honesty rarely seen in ukiyo-e of this time period. From ghost stories to folktales, violent clashes to the gentle glow of the moon, Yoshitoshi offers not only compositional and technical brilliance, but also unfettered passion.

Yoshitoshi was born in Edo on April 30th, 1839. As a young boy, he showed remarkable artistic talent and fierce interest in classical Japanese literature and history. He began to study under the renowned Kuniyoshi at the age of 11. Kuniyoshi, a leading woodblock print artist of the day, developed a close relationship with his pupil and gave him the name Yoshitoshi. Yoshitoshi Tsukioka published his first print to modest success in 1853, a triptych of a famous clash between the Taira and Minamoto clans. That same year, Commodore Perry's "black ships" docked in Edo Bay.

In the early 1860s, Yoshitoshi's prints focused on kabuki subjects and historical scenes, as well as foreigners. As the 19th century progressed, ukiyo-e felt the influence of the modern era, particularly through the introduction of synthetic dyes. Yoshitoshi learned to use these colors with subtlety and skill, holding his works to the highest printing standards throughout his career. Following Kuniyoshi's death in 1861, Yoshitoshi struggled as he set off on his own, taking Toshikage as his first student in 1863. As political instability grew in Japan during the late 1860s, he entered his "bloody period," an era marked by images of graphic violence and extravagant brutality.

As Meiji-period modernization pushed ahead, Yoshitoshi Tsukioka suffered a nervous breakdown in 1872, living in poverty and ceasing all artistic production. A year later, he resumed work; adopting the artist name Taiso, meaning "Great Resurrection," and fulfilling his creative potential. While Yoshitoshi continued to present battle scenes on his ukiyo-e woodblock prints, he turned his attention to more recent incidents and slowly shifted from overt violence to the psychological struggles of individuals. In 1885, he began one of his most acclaimed series, One Hundred Views of the Moon (1885-1892). During the last decade of his life, Yoshitoshi designed numerous illustrated books and several other popular series including Thirty-two Aspects of Women (1888) and Thirty-six Ghosts and Strange Apparitions. (1889-1892). In the spring of 1892, he suffered his final mental breakdown and was committed to the Sugamo Asylum. On the 9th of June 1892, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 53.