Original woodblock print – Tsukioka Taiso Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) –’Kurasou’ 暗そう(Looking dark) -From the series “Fūzoku sanjūnisō” 風俗三十二相(Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners) – Japan -1890s(Meiji 21s)

Description

Original woodblock print – Tsukioka Taiso Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) –’Kurasou’ 暗そう(Looking dark) -From the series “Fūzoku sanjūnisō” 風俗三十二相(Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners) – Japan -1890s(Meiji 21s)

As it is an old ukiyo-e, it has stains and it is considerably trimmed.
There are 32 series of this ukiyo-e

This work depicts a woman from the meiji era (1868-1912).
The room is getting dark and I’m trying to light the lanterns at the bedside. When I see my hair messed up, it looks like I was sleeping.
A smoke tube is drawn at hand.

This “Fūzoku sanjūnisō” 風俗三十二相(Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners)” series is a representative work of Yoshitoshi.
She is characterized by depicting beautiful women of each era.
In this work, the ninth work depicts a woman watching Kabuki. The seat where the woman was watching the play was a special seat called “桟敷Sajikiseki” where she could enjoy meals and sake.

memo
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡 芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi 大蘇 芳年 1839 – 1892) was a Japanese artist.
He is widely recognized as the last great master of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock printing and painting.
He is also regarded as one of the form’s greatest innovators.

In addition, yoshitoshi studied not only Ukiyo-e but also Kikuchi Yosai’s style of painting and Western painting. He also studied historical paintings, bijin-ga, genre paintings, and classical paintings.
Many of Bob’s works are famous, including his muzan-e(無惨画).

Famous disciples include Toshikata Mizuno(水野年方), Toshihide Migita(右田年英), and Toshitsune Inano(稲野年恒).
There are Toshinobu Yamazaki(山崎年信) and others.