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Humanities and Social Sciences Library > Collections & Reading Rooms > Print Collection  Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Japanese, 1839-1892) Yoshitoshi is acknowledged to be one of the leading Ukiyo-e masters of the
Meiji period, and this colorful woodcut triptych is among the most important
of his youthful works. The artist quite early showed a penchant for portraying
warriors in battle, and themes of bloodshed and violence (especially in his
One Hundred Warriors) dominated his first prints and established
his reputation. In this triptych, however, he does not rely on images of blood
and gore to suggest violence, but rather suggests conflict and drama through
a complex, dynamic composition, which is a virtual explosion of pattern and
color. A Yoshitoshi scholar has written about this print: “There are
figures in startling perspective, dramatically foreshortened bodies flying
through space, and a modern approach to composition in the abstract relationship
of pictorial elements.” Although the color of the flames has oxidized,
this in no way detracts from the power of the triptych. Photographic Services & Permissions Back
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