Moritsuna Holding a Knife in his Mouth and Strangling the Fisherman Todayu
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art of Japan
The fisherman Todayu becomes the victim in one of Kuniyoshi's most viscerally intense compositions: Moritsuna holds a knife clenched between his teeth while both hands strangle the man, the knife-in-mouth position allowing his arms full force for the killing grip. The pose — simultaneously grotesque and technically fascinating — demonstrates Kuniyoshi's interest in extreme bodily configurations that push warrior-print conventions toward the limits of what polychrome woodblock could represent. Such prints occupied a space where warrior action and horror imagery overlapped.
Moritsuna Holding a Knife in his Mouth and Strangling the Fisherman Todayu was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
Moritsuna Holding a Knife in his Mouth and Strangling the Fisherman Todayu depicts figures and animals.
