Sugawara no Michizane, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Sugawara no Michizane by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. From the series: Tsuki Hyaku Shi: 100 Aspects of the Moon. Print shows Sugawara Michizane, full-length, standing next to a tree beneath a full moon, writing poetry. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839 - 1892) (Japanese: 月岡 芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi 大蘇 芳年) was a Japanese artist. He is widely recognized as the last great master of Ukiyo-e. He is additionally regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of feudal Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many outstanding aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing.