Yoshitoshi's 'Tales of the Floating World on Eastern Brocade' (1867 - 1868)


Introduction

This page attempts to catalog all known prints in Yoshitoshi's series 'Azumo no Nishiki Ukiyo Kōdan (Tales of the Floating World on Eastern Brocade)'.

It dates from relatively early in Yoshitoshi's career, when he was about twenty-eight, almost two decades before his well-known masterpieces such as his great series "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon" (1885-1892), and "New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts" (often called simply "Thirty-Six Ghosts") (1889-1892).

The series contains popular stories (kōdon) of drama and violence by various story tellers, as retold by Kanagaki Rōbun (1829-1894), a native of Edo who was a writer of humorous and satirical fiction. His focus on the the contortions of Japanese society as it modernized in the Meiji period was likely a bond with Yoshitoshi, who was also interested in the challenges to Japanse society during this turbulent period.

This page (and list) is by no means complete; there are two prints listed below for which we have no images, and we strongly suspect that there may be yet other prints as well. If you know of any prints from this series which aren't listed here, or have either i) images of the prints for which we are missing images, ii) better images than the ones below, or iii) missing information about individual prints (e.g. publisher, exact date) please let us know.

Technical details

Previous cataloguings

One of the first attempts to enumerate this series was in Keyes' thesis: 
	Roger. S. Keyes, "Courage and Silence: A Study of the Life and
		Color Woodblock Prints of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1839-1892",
		Cinncinnati, 1982
where it appears as series #202; he listed 23 prints in the series. The next listing was in: 
	Eric van den Ing, Robert Schaap, "Beauty and Violence: Japanese
		Prints by Yoshitoshi 1839-1892",
		Havilland, Eindhoven, 1992
where it appears as series #20 (pp. 105-107); they listed a further 4 prints (using Keyes' reference numbers for the first 23), making 27 in total.

We use the Keyes/B+V numbers for the first 27, and have numbered the rest in the order in which we discovered them; the prints in the series do not appear to have any numbers on them. 



The Prints


To see a larger image of any print, please click on the thumbnail.







Thumbnail
Number
Date
Publisher
Description






  
#1
9/1867
?
Kotegara Hanji watching two men in the rain
  






  
#2
9/1867
Kinkyu
Mukōkizu Yosa stabbing Kōmoriyasu ("Yasu the bat")
  






  
#3
9/1867
Kinkyu
Yabuhara Kengyō robbing a traveller
  






  
#4
9/1867
Kinseido
Azekura Jūshirō slashes Hinodama no Sangorō
  






  
#5
9/1867
Kinseido
Magaki Heikurō riding a horse up a staircase
  






  
#6
9/1867
Masudaya
Fudō Myōō, one of the five great deities, threatening the
	young priest Yūten Shami (1637-1718)
  






  
#7
9/1867
Yamajin
Nippon Daemon slays Kuroma Gonpei by a horse
  






  
#8
9/1867
Yamajin
The famous swordsman Araki Masaemon, of the Igagoye revenge story,
	attacking Takenouchi Kigenta with a small knife
  






  
#9
9/1867
Yamajin
The sumō wrestlers Takamiyama Daihachi and Katsuragawa Rikizō
  






  
#10
9/1867
Kinseido
Sekiguchi Yatarō, a companion of Miyamoto Musashi, facing two wolves
	in the Hakone mountains
  






  
#11
9/1867
Yamajin
Chōun, one of the heroes of the wars of the Three Kingdoms, riding
	his horse through smoke in order to rescue the infant Ato
  






  
#12
10/1867
Gyokumeido
The wounded chief of the Edo
  otokodate
	Banzuin Chobei (mid-seventeenth century) drinking water in a
	bathhouse, where he is to be treacherously murdered by Mizunō
	Jūrōzaemon
  






  
#13
11/1867
?
Wakashima Gonemon searching underwater for the "dragon bell"
  






  
#14
11/1867
?
Itō Yosota and the spectral cat
  






  
#15
11/1867
?
Tsukahara Bokuden duels with the yamabushi (mountain
	ascetic/warrior) Hinamaru Enkai
  






  
#16
1/1868
?
The priest Dentetsu watching an explosion
  






  
#17
1/1868
?
Satō Samanosuke Yoshiaki running by a green post, an explosion just
	above his head
  






  
#18
1/1868
?
The monkey Songoku battling Rasetsunyo (a wicked female magician)
  





Missing
#19
2/1868
?
Mitsuma Daita kneeling by peonies
  






  
#20
2/1868
?
Asabe Bungonosuke Sadaaki riding his horse through water
  






  
#21
1867 - 1868
?
Hakoōmaru (the childhood name of Soga no Gorō Tokimune) and
	Yawata no Shichirō by a waterfall
  






  
#22
1867 - 1868
?
Kimura Matazō holding a yari (straight-headed spear), looking
	at an army in tne distance
  






  
#23
Undated

The pirate Gonzō with revolver on a ship
  





Missing
#24
1867 - 1868

?
Araki Masaemon with the severed head of an opponent at his feet
  






  
#25
11/1867
?
Osasahara Masao no Tsubone (Lady Masao from Osasahara) between curling
	snakes
  






  
#26
9/1867
?
Kunisada Chūji, a famous "knight of tne town", being presented with
	a severed head
  






  
#27
1868
?
Uwabami Ohashi(?) killing Isokawa Gunjurō
  






  
#28
?
?
The demon Omatsu crossing a river
  






  
#29
1866
?
Nikki Danjo Naonori attempting an assassination
  






  
#30
?
?
Musashibo Benkei reads a scroll to Togashinosuke Ienao
  






  
#30 (alternative state)






  
#31
?
?
Sasaki Shiro Takatsuna and Kajiwara Genda Kagesue on horseback
  






  
#32
?
?
Shima Ukon Tomoyuki and Saito Yohachiro Rikan
  






  
#33
?
?
Ishikawa Monya jumping over a cliff, a sword between his teeth
  






  
#34
?
?
Sano Genzaemon Tsuneyo and Saimyoji Tokoyori in snow
  






  
#35
?
?
Suzuki Shusui wrings water from robe after escaping across river
  






  
#36
?
?
Oboshi Yuranosuke in moonlight (?)
  






  
#37
?
?
Iwami Jutaro breaking through a fence
  






  
#38
?
?
The legendary swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi aka Bennosuke, training a
	student
  






  
#39
?
?
Asakura Tomigoro ducking under a curtain
  






  
#40
?
?
Uesugi Kanenobu on horseback
  






  
#41
?
?
Kumakichi confronts his sister, the Geisha Otake
  






  
#42
?
?
Tabakoya Kihachi kneeling
  






  
#43
?
?
Nakaura Kokichi (?Tokichi) Takayoshi (?Azumayoshi) wading through a
	stream, holding a severed head.
  
























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© Copyright 2007-2009 by J. Noel Chiappa and Jason M. Levine