TSUKIOKA YOSHITOSHI (1839–1892)

This dramatic design depicts the tattooed military captain Rotatsu (Lu Chi Sen), who escaped the death penalty for killing a man in a fit of rage by becoming a monk at a temple. However, he was unable to reform his behaviour and one night staggered back to the temple drunk and accidentally knocked down part of the gate, revealing a large Nio [guardian statue]. He was startled by the looming statue and in his drunken state attacked it.

For a similar impression in the collection of the Waseda University Theatre Museum, go to:
https://archive.waseda.jp/archive/index.html (item number 201-4667 - top sheet) (item number 201-4668 - bottom sheet).