Spirit of a Faithful Wife in a Waterfall

Date:: 1892
Medium:: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 36.8 × 25.4 cm
Source:: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Typical Price

Fine impression of ghost or supernatural subject: $2,000–$10,000
Good condition supernatural print: $600–$2,500
Later impression: $200–$700

Description

This 1892 print—one of the last works Yoshitoshi completed before his death—depicts the spirit of a faithful wife materialized within the rushing waters of a waterfall, her devotion so powerful that it transcends death. The waterfall setting was a conventional site for supernatural manifestation in Japanese legend, its constant roaring motion suggesting the persistence of passionate attachments beyond the grave. Yoshitoshi renders the translucent figure with technical mastery, blending the woman's form with the cascading water in a haunting meditation on loyalty and the supernatural.

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 Landscapes Prints

Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"

Wakasa Kugushiko

1920

Color woodblock print; oban

Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"

1934

Color woodblock print; oban

Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)

n.d.

Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Mount Fuji in Japanese Woodblock Prints Meisho-e: Famous-Place Prints Japanese Ghost and Yōkai Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Spirit of a Faithful Wife in a Waterfall was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 1892.

Spirit of a Faithful Wife in a Waterfall depicts landscapes, waterfalls, and rivers & lakes.

Spirit of a Faithful Wife in a Waterfall measures 36.8 × 25.4 cm (Oban format).