Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839 – 1892) is widely recognized as the last great master of ukiyo-e. He was an amazing artist and his design style was much more realistic than other Japanese artists. Yoshitoshi struggled with mental issues and much of that struggle came out in his work of violent themes (muzan-e). He is also well known for the beauty and creativity of his series "100 Aspects of the Moon", "32 Aspects of Women's Customs and Manners" and his imaginative "New Forms of 36 Ghosts".

See All Yoshitoshi Prints

Yoshitoshi's Famous Print Series

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi was born in Edo in 1839 to a wealthy merchant family. At the age of 11 he became the student of Kuniyoshi. Yoshitoshi learned the elements of western drawing techniques and perspective through studying Kuniyoshi's collection of foreign prints and engravings.

He became recognized as the most important student of Kuniyoshi and by the age of 30 he was considered one of the best woodblock artists in Japan. In fact he is considered by many to be the last great Ukiyoe master coming out of the Meji era. Yoshitoshi bridged that gap between the old feudal Japan and the new modern Japan.

He was a very prolific artist and it’s estimated over ten thousand designs were produced by him.

Famous Print Series

Thirty-two Aspects of Women's Customs and Manners

Considered Yoshitoshi's finest series of bijin-ga, or pictures of beautiful women. The women depicted come from all social classes.

The series was printed using premium techniques, such as bokashi shading, embossing, and burnishing. Prints from this series are in major museum collections worldwide.

famous print series

100 Aspects of the Moon

A gorgeously conceived series, published in batches between 1885 and 1892. The prints depict various aspects of the moon - so the moon is pictured in each print, similar to Hokusai’s 100 views of mount fuji - where mount fuji is worked into each design. 

Yoshitoshi used the themes of Japanese and Chinese anecdotes, historical events, and mythology, this includes famous warriors, notable women, demons, and ghosts as interpreted through Yoshitoshi’s fertile imagination. 

famous print series

100 Ghost Stories of China and Japan

In 1865 we get into the territory that Yoshitoshi was famous, or infamous for, his first major series on ghosts. It was called “One hundred ghost stories of China and Japan” but Only 26 of the 100 prints were ever published. The series was based upon a game where scary stories are told by candlelight. This series foreshadows many more scary and gruesome designs to come.

Featured Yoshitoshi Prints - Available Now

As of this writing, these original Yoshitoshi prints are available for purchase from our Gallery. We encourage you to compare our pricing with similar prints from other galleries. In addition we have over 100 other prints by ukiyo-e master Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

Some of Our Favorite Prints in Stock

Yoshitoshi's Biography