Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, "Kesa Gozen"

The story of Kesa Gozen centers on her love for her husband and her jealous cousin, Endo Morito, who falls in love with her and sets out to murder Gozen's husband. One night, Gozen cuts her hair and lies in her husband's bed. Endo sneaks into the bedroom and kills her, not knowing it is Gozen. In this design, Gozen is shown full of emotion writing a letter to her husband on the eve of her death. Note the burning incense on the left. 

Yoshitoshi's "Twenty-Four Accomplishments in Imperial Japan" was a series of works produced between 1881-1887 depicting various notable leaders from Japan's long, storied history. The poems at the top of the compositions are by Ryutei Tanehiko. Tokaido Arts is pleased to present the full series of works from the second printing ca. 1893 following Yoshitoshi's death in 1892.

Series: Twenty-Four Accomplishments in Imperial Japan
Date: ca. 1881
Size: Oban 
Publisher: Matsuki Heikichi
Condition: Original album backing; otherwise excellent color and condition
Frame Shown: 16" x 24” x 1/2”, Classic Walnut, Clear Walnut

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) was a master painter and woodblock print artist whose works have made an indelible mark on Japanese art and design to this day. His most famous series, "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon," comprise some of Yoshitoshi's best known designs.