Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) Japanese, Woodblock Print. Titled "The Moon and the Abandoned Old Woman" (Obasute no tsuki), first printed in 1891 as number 97 in the "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon" series. The print depicts the folklore of ubasute, where an elderly relative is carried to a mountain to be abandoned. The large pine tree in the foreground is traditionally a symbol of longevity and longevity, used here to create irony. Kanji at top and bottom right of image, along with the red seal. 

Overall Size: 17 x 13 1/2 in. 

Sight Size: 12 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. 

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) is considered the last great master and innovator of traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printing, although frequently disregarded in favor of earlier artists like Hiroshige, Utamaro, and Toyokuni until a cultural reappraisal in the 1970s. His career spanned a time of profound cultural transition, capturing both the final years of the feudal Edo period and the rapid modernization of the Meiji Restoration, and his thematic series and artistic style shifted throughout his lifetime to reflect this. Apprenticed at age 11 to the legendary master Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi developed impeccable draftsmanship and incorporated elements of Western perspective into his work. During the volatile 1860s he achieved massive public notoriety for his highly graphic “Bloody Prints,” which vividly mirrored the real-world violence fracturing Japanese society. Despite suffering severe bouts of mental illness, financial ruin, and the rise of competing technologies like photography, he staged a creative revival in the 1880s, changing his artist name to Taiso, meaning “great resurrection.” His final productive years yielded some of his most celebrated masterpieces, including the ethereal series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, cooperating with fellow artists and actors to keep traditional Japanese arts alive until his rapid deterioration and death from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 53.

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