100 VIEWS OF THE MOON by YOSHITOSHI: The Ronin Gallery invites you to step into an enchanted and mysterious domain with prints from The 100 Views of the Moon by Yoshitoshi. In this masterpiece series Yoshitoshi draws inspiration from every conceivable source---legends, customs, impassioned lovers, classical poetry, history and contemporary life of Japan in the late 19th century. The prints are executed with a delicacy, brightness and assurance often using mica, and lacquer and embossing to enhance the designs.
Yoshitoshi, the renowned Meiji master of the ukiyo-e world, was born the son of a physician in 1839. Even as a young boy he showed a remarkable talent. At the age of 12, he became one of Kuniyoshi’s most promising students and in 1854, he produced his first woodblock print. In the early years of Meiji period, his work played an important role in reminding the Japanese people of their past glories as well as in presenting a new, modernized Japan to the world. In the midst of the pressures of a changing Japan, he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1872. A year later he resumed his work and from that point on his popularity grew and reached heights never before attained by any ukiyo-e artist. In 1885 he began to desing the 100 Views of the Moon which was completed in1891. In the spring of 1892, he again went insane and was committed to the Sugamo Asylum. He died shortly thereafter
