Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) (artist 04/30/1839 – 06/09/1892)
Ishikawa Mon'ya Katsuaki (石川門弥勝明) from the series Tales of the Floating World in Eastern Brocade: Momkawa Engyoku (Azuma nishiki ukiyo kōdan: Momokawa Engyoku - 東錦浮世稿談: 桃川燕玉)
01/1868
9.5 in x 14 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese woodblock print
Signed: Ikkaisai Yoshitoshi hitsu
一魁斎芳年筆
Artist's seal: kiri
Publisher: Tamaya Sōsuke
(Marks 528 - seal 25-145)
Combined date and aratame censor's seal: 1/1868
Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna
Yoshitoshi.net - the full set of prints from this series
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg - referred to as Ashikawa Mon'ya Shōmei "A samurai identified as Ishikawa Mon'ya Katsuaki dodges a gang of pursuers by making a daring leap off a cliff with a bloody sword gripped in his teeth (blade exposed outward, of course), from a tale credited to Momokawa Engyoku."
This information was provided by Scholten Japanese Art which translates the title as "Eastern Flowers of Rough Stories from the Floating World: Momokawa Engyoku; Ishikawa Mon'ya Katsuaki".
Momokawa Engyoku lived from 1846-1905.
****
"Rough tales of the floating world told on eastern brocades (Azuma nishiki ukiyo kōdan) is a complex series in its content and in the interpretation of the meaning of the series title. In the past, little effort has been made to further our understanding of the term kōdan (稿談) in the title which, when written with different homophonic characters, refers to the tradition of story telling (講談). 'Story telling' is a central element in the set, since the series title in each print is followed by the name of a well-known raconteur (kōdan-shi) from the late Edo and early Meiji periods. The character used for kō in the title kōdan connotes 'rough', 'sketchy' or 'unpolished', as in a 'rough manuscript' or 'rough version'."
Quoted from: Yoshitoshi: Masterpieces from the Ed Freis Collection, page 89.
"This set was issued from 9/1867-2/1868. Forty-five designs from this series are presently known... The set is unusual for its collaboration between seven different publishers. It is quite rare and was never re-published." (Ibid.) [The choice of bold type is ours.]
****
The text on this print in the upper left, a folded over book, is by Kanagaki Robun (仮名垣魯文 - 1829-1894). It is based on a tale originally told by Momokawa Engyoku
****
There are four other prints from this series in the Lyon Collection: #s 369, 370, 957 and 958.
Tamaya Sōsuke (玉屋惣助) (publisher)
warrior prints (musha-e - 武者絵) (genre)
Meiji era (明治時代: 1868-1912) (genre)
Kanagaki Robun (仮名垣魯文) (author)