Yoshitoshi
#4 in the series: 'Eimei nijūhasshūku (英名 二十八 衆句 - 28 Famous Murders with Verse)', of which Yoshitoshi produced half, with Yoshiiku (1833-1904) being responsible for the others. Note the bloody head wrapped in cloth on the table.
The series contains illustrations of events which often have a historical background, and were usually well-known from kabuki and noh plays. The series contains text by what is claimed to be ten different writers.
It dates from quite early in Yoshitoshi's career, when he was about twenty-seven, 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).
Date: 1867
Publisher: Sano-ya Tomigorō (Kinseidō)
Condition: Backed on paper. Very good color and impression.
http://www.yoshitoshi.net/series/murders.html