Details

Yoshitoshi’s work is overflowing with heroes and ghosts. The artist revisited these themes countless times throughout his prolific career. This design is an early work for the artist. It depicts Yoshitoshi’s first attempt at illustrating scenes from Suikoden, or “Water Margin,” a Chinese novel translated into Japanese at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Hokusai was the first Japanese print artist to illustrate the story, and Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi’s mentor, was well known for his rendition of the series. Unlike Hokusai and Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi elected to illustrate his series in a chuban format, half the size of the standard oban composition and imbued his designs with a surprising physiological intensity.

In this print, Yoshitoshi depicts a samurai with his hand on his chin, lost in thought. Unbeknownst to the warrior, a smiling ghoulish head floats just above him—both mocking and studying the pensive figure below. The design is flamboyant, playful, and startling—the size of the head dominates the composition and delivers a spectacle that is memorable and haunting.

Connoisseur's Note

This powerful design is the star of this Yoshitoshi series and ranks as one of the most successful ghost designs within the artist’s body of work. Though the work is chuban in format, the composition punches well beyond its weight in impact for its relatively small size. This impression is in an excellent state of preservation with fresh and vibrant colors and a sharp impression—a collector’s gem.