Series; New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts
Yoshitoshi's Thirty-Six Ghosts - In this incredible series, Yoshitoshi illustrated thirty-six of his favorite tales from Japanese history and legend. From charming folk stories to bloody tales of revenge, the series is the work of the artist's maturity and Yoshitoshi explores the subjects with great subtlety and psychological perception. As interesting to Yoshitoshi as the ghosts and monsters, are the human beings to whom they appear. Yoshitoshi was immensely popular in the last years of his life and the ghost series was greeted with great enthusiasm and a rush to collect among the Japanese public.
Today, prints from Yoshitoshi's Thirty-six Ghosts series are some of the most highly sought after prints on the market. A wonderful area of collecting for the Yoshitoshi enthusiast.
Mirror the Evening Moon in the Sky, No. 31 - Intriguing design of the seventh-century priest and poet, Sogi. Taking refuge one night in an abandoned house, he overheard two ghosts arguing about completing a poem, as in a traditional Japanese poetry contest. He quickly supplied the final line, the title of the print, but the ghosts were angry at being outdone, and threatened him before finally leaving him in peace. Here, he crouches on the wooden floor, grass growing up through the boards and vines covering the cracked plaster walls. The ghosts appear in gray silhouette at right in an inner room. The complete verse reads "The ever-reflecting water is frozen and covered with ice, it does not mirror the evening moon in the sky." An atmospheric design with soft shading, and delicate embossing on the white pants.
Artist - Yoshitoshi (1839 - 1892)
Image Size - 13" x 8 3/4" + margins as shown
Condition - A nice clean print with beautiful color and detail. Backed with paper. Excellent condition overall.
