JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > TORANOSUKE STABBING A WITCH

Lot 00921
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

TORANOSUKE STABBING A WITCH

Year: 1867
Condition: good
Size: 18 x 25 cm

SOLD

Important woodblock print by the artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) depicting, as we read in the insets visible in the upper part of the work, Takagi Toranosuke Tadakatsu (髙木虎之助忠勝), a master of martial arts from Nobeoka (延岡) in the ancient Hyuga Province (日向国), stabbing the "mountain witch" Yamaonna (山女) to death inside a cave on Mount Hakone (箱根山).

The work, taken from the famous series "Sagas of Beauty and Bravery" (美勇水滸伝), was produced in April 1867 by the publisher Omiya Kyujiro (近江屋久次郎), owner of Kiyudo (亀遊堂), and by the carver Katada Chojiro (片田長次郎).

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging including tiny holes and in particular binding holes as well as small imperfections on the margins, is in overall good condition.

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