The Retainer Samanosuke on the Moor at Night
- Date:
- 1865
- Medium:
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Victoria and Albert Museum
Description
"The Retainer Samanosuke on the Moor at Night" (1865) depicts an armed retainer—likely Akechi Samanosuke—crossing a dark moor in the night, the isolation and darkness suggesting both physical danger and spiritual exposure. Nocturnal landscape settings in Yoshitoshi's early prints often carry supernatural overtones: the moor was a liminal space in Japanese folklore, associated with wandering spirits and supernatural encounters. The solitary warrior in the dark landscape would become one of Yoshitoshi's most evocative compositional types.
More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
More Night Scenes Prints
Evening in East Africa
Woodblock print
Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Teradomari no yau
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
![Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0960668-1e73-339a-b182-fb995a54bff0/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"
1947
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"
March 1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Frequently Asked Questions
The Retainer Samanosuke on the Moor at Night was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 1865.
The Retainer Samanosuke on the Moor at Night depicts night scenes.