100 Aspects of the Moon # 84 by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Taiso) (1839-1892)

Woodblock Prints Title: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon # 84 Cloth-beating moon (Kinuta no tsuki)

1st Publication: April 1890

Size: Oban; 13-1/2" x 9-1/4" (34 x 23.5 cm)

Date of this edition: April 1890

Publisher: Akiyama Buemon.

Condition: Backed on an acid free album page, else very fine. Excellent colors and impression, very good overall condition.

More about this print: A scene from the Noh play Kinuta. A "kinuta" is a kind of fulling block on which cloth was beaten after starching, in order to remove wrinkles and restore its gloss. The sound of beating the kinuta is generally associated with autumn nightfall and loneliness.

A woman, whose husband has spent three years away from home in the capital, hears that he cannot yet return as promised. Disappointment, loneliness, and hatred lead to her insanity, and ultimately to her death. Perhaps the repetitive sounds also foreshadow that her ghost eventually will attain peace through the power of the Lotus Sutra. The name Yugiri, mentioned in the cartouche, is that of the maid-servant sitting in the background.

Pictures: Pictures are taken outdoor, in the shade, to reflect true colors, without any enhancements of any kind. The last picture is taken indoor, with a light behind the print, to reveal the exact paper grain, holes if any, or other possible flaws.