The Floating World

A collection

One Hundred Aspects of the Moon

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ended the classical tradition with its most haunting series. One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (1885–92) takes a single rule — every design holds the moon — and turns it a hundred ways: a general playing the flute before battle, a court lady in exile, a fox crying in winter grass. Drawn as Japan electrified and the woodblock workshops closed around him, the series is both a summation and a farewell. Collectors treat it as one long poem. Begin anywhere; the moon is the same in every sheet.

The Cry of the Fox — Tsukioka YoshitoshiOne Hundred Aspects of the MoonThe Cry of the FoxTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1886 · from $69.00Musashi Plain Moon — Tsukioka YoshitoshiOne Hundred Aspects of the MoonMusashi Plain MoonTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1892 · from $69.00Chang’e Flees to the Moon — Tsukioka YoshitoshiOne Hundred Aspects of the MoonChang’e Flees to the MoonTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1885Moon above the Sea at Daimotsu Bay — Benkei — Tsukioka YoshitoshiOne Hundred Aspects of the MoonMoon above the Sea at Daimotsu Bay — BenkeiTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1886The Moon at Ishiyama — Murasaki Shikibu — Tsukioka YoshitoshiOne Hundred Aspects of the MoonThe Moon at Ishiyama — Murasaki ShikibuTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1889