Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI
(Japan 1839–1892)
- Title
- The twilight beauty (Chapter 4)
- Other titles:
- Chapter Yûgao of the Tale of Genji
- Alternative title:
- Tsuki hyaku sugata: Genji Yûgao no maki
- Place of origin
-
Japan
- Period
- Meiji period 1868 - 1912 → Japan
- Year
- 1886
- Media category
- Materials used
- colour woodcut
- Dimensions
-
Ôban tate-e: 32.9 x 22.3cm image; 35.3 x 24.2cm sheet
- Signature & date
- Signed l.r., in Japanese, ink [incised on block] "Yoshitoshi". Signed l.r., in Japanese, ink [stamped] "Taiso [artist's seal]". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1994
- Accession number
- 648.1994
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Yoshitoshi, known as Taiso Yoshitoshi from 1873, was one of the ukiyo-e masters of the late Edo - early Meiji period, and is known particularly for the energy and emotion of his work, which reflects the modern sensitivity.
This print is from a series of one hundred images of the moon. The series is considered one of the best from his later career, alongside the series of thirty-six monsters. The subject of this print is a modern image of The Tale of Genji, the classical literature, which inspired countless images of ukiyo-e. Yugao is one of Genji's beautiful love who is cursed to death by a jealous lady of a higher rank who has been estranged from Prince Genji. The name Yugao literally means `Evening Face' and is also a name of the flower of the gourd family, so called because it opens in the evening. Yoshitoshi depicted a melancholic image of this unfortunate young woman with the flower of her namesake.
- Bibliography (4)
-
'At the Imperial Court: Shades of desire' by Nicholas Jose, pg. 95-96., The Bulletin 21 Dec 1999-04 Jan 2000, 21 Dec 1999-04 Jan 2000, 95-96, 96 (colour illus.).
Eric van den Ing (Netherlands) (Author), Robert Schaap (Author), John Stevenson (United States of America, b.1944) (Author), Beauty & Violence: Japanese Prints by Yoshitoshi 1839-1892, Netherlands, 1992, 74 (colour illus.). cat. no.54.28
SEGI Shin'ichi (Japan) (Author), Yoshitoshi: The Splendid Decadent, Tokyo, 1985, 61 (colour illus.). fig.no. 30
Khanh Trinh (Editor), Genji - the world of the Shining Prince, Sydney, 2008, 38 (colour illus.), 39 (colour illus.). fig.20. The colour illus. on page 38 is a detail of this work.
- Exhibition history (1)
-
Beauty and Desire in Edo period Japan, National Gallery of Australia, 06 Jun 1998–09 Aug 1998.
