Cartoon (Tooth Pulling)

This undated print depicting a tooth-pulling cartoon belongs to Kiyochika's extensive satirical and comic output — a facet of his career often overshadowed by the Tokyo meisho landscapes and war triptychs. The subject — a common scene of folk dentistry drawn from the tradition of rakugo and comic storytelling — is rendered with the comic exaggeration of Edo-period otsu-e folk painting. Kiyochika contributed to numerous illustrated comic books and single-sheet satires throughout his career.