Taiso Yoshitoshi

Also known as: 大蘇芳年 - Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡芳年 - Owariya Yonejiro

Taiso Yoshitoshi (real name Owariya Yonejiro) was born in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) in 1839 and studied from an early age with the great Utagawa Kuniyoshi, whose dramatic warrior imagery strongly influenced him. Yoshitoshi’s early works, including series such as Sagas of Beauty and Bravery, reflect the turbulent years of the late Tokugawa shogunate, often filled with graphic violence and supernatural themes. He lived through the Meiji Restoration (1868), a period of rapid modernization and upheaval, which shaped both his fortunes and his art.

Despite periods of poverty and mental illness, Yoshitoshi persevered, and in the 1870s–80s he shifted toward more refined and psychologically nuanced compositions. His later series, such as One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (1885–1892) and New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts (1889–1892), are regarded as masterpieces of ukiyo-e, blending tradition with modern sensitivity. By the time of his death in 1892, he was celebrated as the “last great master” of the Japanese woodblock print, ensuring the survival and renewal of the medium at a moment when it was being eclipsed by Western printing techniques.