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Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Tanaka Kanhachi

Tanaka Kanhachi by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi — Japanese Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper, 1869, 3rd lunar month

Tanaka Kanhachi

by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Meiji/Taishō Prints Ukiyo-e

Warriors

Date:: 1869, 3rd lunar month
Medium:: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 36 × 24.5 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

Tanaka Kanhachi was a celebrated Edo-period commoner hero, a gambler and street fighter who became the subject of popular fiction and kabuki plays. This 1869 [nishiki-e](/glossary/nishiki-e) print depicts him in a moment of violent confrontation, rendered with the raw energy characteristic of Yoshitoshi's warrior and outlaw imagery of the late 1860s. The composition reflects the ongoing popularity of chivalrous outlaw (kyokaku) stories in early Meiji popular culture, when nostalgia for the vanished Edo world ran high.

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.

Japanese Ghost and Yōkai Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Tanaka Kanhachi was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 1869, 3rd lunar month.

Tanaka Kanhachi depicts figures, kabuki, and warriors.

Tanaka Kanhachi measures 36 × 24.5 cm (Oban format).