Art Institute of Chicago

General Tamichi, from the series A Mirror of Famous Japanese Generals

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Date

1880

Medium

Color woodblock print; oban

Culture

Japan

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This print depicts the ghost of Tamichi, a 4th-century hero who had been buried near Japan’s northern frontier. During a raid tribes tried to loot his tomb, only to find that it was protected by a giant poisonous snake. Known for his prints of historical figures, wars, legends, and social customs, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi is often considered the last master of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world), a Japanese art style that flourished from the 17th to the 19th centuries. He produced his first signed print when he was 14 and became an independent artist at age 20.

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