Biographies of Modern Men (1917) - #28 Madara no Ushizō Lunging with a Sword - by Yoshitoshi (1839 - 1892)

Original Taisho period print from the series "Biographies of Modern Men" (Kinsei kyōgiden).

Yoshitoshi's great series "Biographies of Modern Men" illustrates the heroes, villains and strongmen in a deadly confrontation between two gambling rings in Shimosa Province in 1849. Like modern gangs, these two groups of criminals and bandits were engaged in a brutal blood feud. A beautiful series of portraits of men who, like the 47 Ronin, became popular culture heroes in Japan long after their time.

A great early Yoshitoshi series. Beautifully cut and printed, these prints are from a 1917 edition published by Yoshikawa Kobunkan. Each copy features a portrait of a famous character from this fantastic series. Originals from this series are difficult to find, so these fine Taisho era prints provide a great opportunity to collect an early Yoshitoshi warrior image.

Perforation holes: The perforation holes indicate a picture from a book or magazine, which often happened in the Meiji period. Yoshitoshi made illustrations for books and newspapers, among other things.

Paper and back: The fiber structure and ink transfer on the back point to traditional Japanese paper (washi). Later reproductions use thicker, smoother paper.

Signature and Seal: The red seal below the signature is original and not later stamped. Later reprints sometimes have a different stamp or miss it altogether.

Colors and lines: The colors are nicely saturated, but not too bright, which indicates that this is not a modern reprint. The contour lines are sharp, which is consistent with original woodblock prints (unlike later offset prints).

Size: 16.4w x 24.3h cm.

Condition of the print: With excellent color and details as shown. Torn corner at top right. Nice condition overall. See photos for details.

Rarity: Some works by Yoshitoshi are highly sought after and can be worth hundreds to thousands of Euros.