Left: Kurikara Kengorō; right: Hohodemi-no-mikoto

Date:: 1867, 8th lunar month
Medium:: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 25.2 × 37.8 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

This 1867 double composition presents two warrior figures on a single sheet: on the left, Kurikara Kengorō, and on the right, Hohodemi-no-mikoto, the Japanese mythological prince who visited the sea god's palace. The pairing of a historical outlaw warrior with a Shinto mythological deity is characteristic of Yoshitoshi's eclectic approach to subject matter, which drew freely from history, legend, mythology, and fiction without concern for strict generic categories. The composition demonstrates his ability to individualize contrasting figures within a single format.

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)

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)"

1888

Color woodblock print; oban

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?

Woodblock print

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

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Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

Woodblock print

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Japanese Ghost and Yōkai Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Left: Kurikara Kengorō; right: Hohodemi-no-mikoto was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 1867, 8th lunar month.

Left: Kurikara Kengorō; right: Hohodemi-no-mikoto depicts figures, mythology, and warriors.

Left: Kurikara Kengorō; right: Hohodemi-no-mikoto measures 25.2 × 37.8 cm (Oban format).