Tsukioka Yoshitoshi: A Hundred Aspects of the Moon, print 58 - Minamoto no Yorimasa (1888)

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A Woodblock Print made by the Japanese artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). This print is a part of the set "100 Aspects of the Moon". The subjects of each print is taken from Indian, Chinese and Japanese legends of famous musicians, poets and heroes. This print shows Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106-1180), a warrior-poet who served various emperors. According to a legend, Minamoto managed to kill a nue, a monster with the body of a badger, the face of a monkey, the paws of a tiger, and a tail tipped with a snake’s head. As a token of gratitude the emperor gave Minamoto a famous sword and the Lady Shobu as his wife. During the rewarding ceremony a minister wanted to hand over the sword to Minamoto when a cuckoo called. Inspired, the minister recited half of a poem: "A cuckoo crying/ winging swiftly through the clouds celebrating his name.”. Yorimasa knelt, looked up at the crescent moon, and humbly responded: “The arrow sought its own way/ as the crescent moon went dark.”. Woodblock from around 1888.