pair of figures wrestling in foreground--a man wearing predominately green armor and a brown-skinned demon-like figure; demon seated in background at left wearing yellow garment, with a droopy face with open mouth and a second face on stomach, with PL arm stretched upward; grey silhouettes of skeletons against black ground; blue and yellow flowered curtain at right; yellow and white patterned flooring in foreground

Toki Daishirō, 1865, 2nd lunar month

Not on Viewexpand_more

One Hundred Tales from Japan and China was Yoshitoshi’s first print series to explore the world of the supernatural. The title refers to “one hundred tales,” the popular storytelling game that was played in a room lit by one hundred oil-lamp wicks, one of which would be blown out after every story. Here the hero Toki Daishirō is wrestling with a vajra warrior, a large wooden statue that usually guards Buddhist temples but has come to life.

This is a rare, nearly final drawing for the key block (the block that prints the black outlines and main details), and it shows the lines almost exactly as they would later be carved. Some of the areas to be printed in gray have been indicated as such with an ink wash, and the reverse sections of the green band wrapped around the vajra warrior are indicated with yellow. Most likely this drawing was executed by one of Yoshitoshi’s students and not by the master himself, since it represents a technical step within the production process.

Details
Title
Toki Daishirō
Artist Life
1839 - 1892
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2017.106.56
Catalogue Raisonne
Keyes, Courage and Silence (1982), no. 134.8; Iwakiri, Yoshitoshi (2014), p. 288.
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

pair of figures wrestling in foreground--a man wearing predominately green armor and a brown-skinned demon-like figure; demon seated in background at left wearing yellow garment, with a droopy face with open mouth and a second face on stomach, with PL arm stretched upward; grey silhouettes of skeletons against black ground; blue and yellow flowered curtain at right; yellow and white patterned flooring in foreground