TSUKIOKA YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)

Based on an ancient tale in which Heian courtier Fujiwara no Yasumasa (958-1036) was playing his flute on Ichihara Moor and is crept up upon by the bandit Kidomaru who intends to kill him. However, overcome by the beauty of the music, Kidomaru abandons his plan. Yoshitoshi's design portrays the solitary flute player in moonlight; to the right the bandit stealthily approaches under the cover of autumn grasses, preparing to draw his sword.
Yoshitoshi first depicted this scene in a painting which was exhibited at the Exhibition for the Advancement of Painting in the autumn of 1882. After viewing the painting at the exhibition the publisher Akiyama Buemon commissioned this print the following year. The full title of the triptych is inscribed on the left sheet: Meiji jugo mizunoe uma kishu Kaiga Kyoshinkai shuppinga Fujiwara no Yasumasa gekka fue o moteasobu zu (Fujiwara no Yasumasa Playing the Flute by Moonlight, a Painting Shown at the Exhibition for the Advancement of Painting in Autumn 1882).
For the same print in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 11.20238-40, go to:
https://www.mfa.org/collections/search