青幻舎 SEIGENSHA Art Publishing

Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (1839-1892) was an ukiyo-e artist in the late Tokugawa and early Meiji periods. While specializing first and foremost in warrior pictures and historical depictions in the style of his master Kuniyoshi Utagawa, he was also active in other genres, including bijin-ga portraits of beautiful women, and caricature.

One Hundred Aspects of the Moon represents the final stage of his career that Yoshitoshi had arrived at in 1885, at the age of 46, and that he continued working on until his death at age 53 in 1892. As the title suggests, the series comprises a total of one hundred items, telling all sorts of stories related to the moon in one way or another. The broad range of characters appearing in these varied stories includes next to women in the Heian period, generals in the Sengoku period, and common people in the Edo period, also ghosts and other mythical creatures.

This book introduces all of the One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, divided into the four topical categories “beautiful women,” “mythical and divine creatures,” “brave men” and “taste, pathos and nostalgia.”

Created more than 130 years ago, One Hundred Aspects of the Moon features impressive depictions from bold perspectives that radiate the peculiar sense of tranquility of quiet moonlit nights, and the beauty of refined sculpting and printing, prompting us to commend the entire work’s greatness and stylishness even today. Enjoy the hundred mesmerizing facets of the moon as highlighted in Yoshitoshi’s unique masterpiece!