One Hundred Aspects of the Moon
Moon above the Sea at Daimotsu Bay — Benkei
大物海上月 · Daimotsu kaijō no tsuki
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1886
What it is
The warrior-monk Benkei stands at the storm-swept prow in Daimotsu Bay, prayer beads in hand, praying down the ghosts of the drowned Taira as the sea rises around Yoshitsune’s ship.
Why it matters
The same night Kuniyoshi spread across a triptych of ghosts, Yoshitoshi distills to one man and the sea — the Noh play Funa Benkei compressed into a single standing figure.
What to notice
No ghost is shown; the swell itself is the haunting, and Benkei answers it with beads rather than the naginata he was famous for. The moon rides above the storm, unbothered.
"Against the drowned, a prayer holds better than an oar."
The record
- Artist
- Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡芳年 (1839–1892)
- Series
- One Hundred Aspects of the Moon
- Date
- 1886
- Publisher
- Akiyama Buemon
- Medium
- woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons · Yoshitoshi - 100 Aspects of the Moon - 12.jpg
Impression note. Fine impressions keep the storm swell’s wave-lines crisp and dark against the moonlit sky, and hold Benkei’s robes as solid, readable blacks — the figure must anchor the sheet while everything around him heaves. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.
Public domain; faithfully reproduced.
Bring it home
Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.
From the same series
One Hundred Aspects of the MoonThe Cry of the FoxTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1886 · from $69.00
One Hundred Aspects of the MoonMusashi Plain MoonTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1892 · from $69.00
One Hundred Aspects of the MoonChang’e Flees to the MoonTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1885
One Hundred Aspects of the MoonThe Moon at Ishiyama — Murasaki ShikibuTsukioka Yoshitoshi · 1889The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.