Ōshima Tanzō

Ōshima Tanzō appears in this 1866 nishiki-e print as a warrior or outlaw figure from the tradition of commoner hero fiction. The print belongs to Yoshitoshi's sustained output of musha-e during the mid-1860s, when he was producing multiple warrior prints monthly for a commercial market that consumed them rapidly. The bold coloring and dynamic figure placement of this period reflect both the conventions of the genre and Yoshitoshi's emerging personal style, which would push beyond those conventions in the following decade.