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Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao

Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi — Japanese Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper, second half 1860s

Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao

by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Meiji/Taishō Prints Ukiyo-e

Figures Temples & Shrines

Date:: second half 1860s
Medium:: Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 36.8 × 25.6 cm
Source:: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Typical Price

Scarce or exceptional Yoshitoshi composition in fine condition: $1,500–$8,000
Good condition print: $400–$1,500
Later impression or common subject: $200–$600

Description

Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao was the court official whose insults provoked Lord Asano to draw his blade in the shogun's palace—the act that set the forty-seven ronin vendetta in motion. This preparatory drawing from the second half of the 1860s shows Yoshitoshi's working process: the ink-and-color sketch captures the composition's essential elements before transfer to the woodblock. Moronao was history's designated villain of the Chushingura cycle, but Yoshitoshi's studies often render even villains with psychological complexity.

More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Shunkan Watching Enviously from Kikai Island as Yasuyori Returns to the Capitol after Being Unexpectedly Pardoned (Shunkan sozu Kikaigashima ni oite tamatama Yasuyori no shamen senbo kito no zu) by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Shunkan Watching Enviously from Kikai Island as Yasuyori Returns to the Capitol after Being Unexpectedly Pardoned (Shunkan sozu Kikaigashima ni oite tamatama Yasuyori no shamen senbo kito no zu)

Looking as if She Wants to Go for a Walk: The Fashion of a Married Woman of the Meiji Era (Yūho ga shitasō, Meiji nenkan saikun no fūzoku), from the series Thirty-two Appearances of Fashion (Fūzoku sanjūni sō) by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Looking as if She Wants to Go for a Walk: The Fashion of a Married Woman of the Meiji Era (Yūho ga shitasō, Meiji nenkan saikun no fūzoku), from the series Thirty-two Appearances of Fashion (Fūzoku sanjūni sō)

Slovenly (Shidaranasaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)" by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Slovenly (Shidaranasaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"

1888

Color woodblock print; oban

Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi" by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi"

n.d.

Color woodblock print

More Figures Prints

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965? by Hideo Hagiwara

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki) by Kawanabe Kyosai

Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki)

Woodblock print

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965? by Hideo Hagiwara

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962 by Kihei Sasajima

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

Woodblock print

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Meisho-e: Famous-Place Prints Japanese Ghost and Yōkai Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in second half 1860s.

Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao depicts figures, temples & shrines, and warriors.

Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao measures 36.8 × 25.6 cm (Oban format).