Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, "Kobai and Kusunoki Masatsura"

Yoshitoshi's series "Poems of Love and Valor" depict well-known courtesans of the time with warriors from Japan's military past. On the top cartouche is inscribed a short poem. In this image, the courtesan Kobai of Nezu (Tokyo) is shown alongside the Southern Court warrior Kusunoki Masatura from Japan's Nanbokucho period (13th and 14th centuries). A striking work with deep vermillion coloring serving as a backdrop to the composition. 

Series: Poems of Love and Valor
Date: 1879
Size: Oban 
Publisher: Hirose Tatsugoro
Condition: Some wear to sheet, but otherwise excellent color and condition (not backed or trimmed)
Frame Shown: 16" x 24” x 1/2”, Classic Walnut, Ebony

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.`