Tawara Tōda Hidesato and the Dragon Woman of Seta

This 1865 print dramatizes the encounter between the Heian warrior Tawara Tōda Hidesato and a dragon princess at the Bridge of Seta—a tale from the Konjaku Monogatari and other classical collections. The dragon woman, who appears as an ordinary woman to the hero, tests his courage by asking him to cross over a giant serpent coiled across the bridge. Yoshitoshi depicts the pivotal moment with theatrical tension, the supernatural woman gesturing toward the hero in a scene dense with mythological significance.