Zoom in to Yoshitoshi's Samurai Rider

The Japanese artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi lived a long and storied life. He was born in 1839 during the Edo era, and lived until 1892, seeing the first years of the Meiji Restoration. As an artist, he is considered the last great master of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock printing.

The period of his life was one of increasing technological development and Westernization. Over time Yoshitoshi became increasingly concerned with the loss of many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing.

He dedicated himself to this art, in which he recalled the history and legends of Japan. This print, taken from his series One Hundred Ghost Tales from China and Japan depicts the infamous samurai Watanabe no Tsuna, who lived in the 10th Century and features in many myths.

The print shows Yoshitoshi's remarkable skill in rendering human effort and the forces of nature.

The sky is almost black, thick streaks of rain drive down, drenching man and horse. Bolts of lightning spear the sky. Thunder cracks and rolls…

Tsuna's wild-eyed horse rears up in fright…

But the fearsome warrior is determined. He covers his head, furrows his brow, and rides on.

Yoshitoshi would have created this complex image in layers using a series of woodblocks, one block for each colour, and each printed on top of the others. The image would slowly appear as each was laid, with the final block printing the black rain streaks over the entire image.

Link many ukiyo-e pictures, captions are included describing the scene. and naming the artist. Even these are decorated, whispy, blue cloud-like streaks cross the writing.