Sanemori, from the series "Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue)"

Art Historical Context

Tsukioka Kôgyo’s “Sanemori,” created in 1898, belongs to his celebrated series “Nogakuue” (Pictures of Noh Performances). As a leading Meiji-period artist, Kôgyo devoted much of his career to documenting the stately world of Noh theater, a classical Japanese dramatic form that blends music, dance, and poetry. This color woodblock print captures a pivotal moment from the play “Sanemori,” which recounts the story of the aged warrior Saitō Sanemori, whose ghost returns to relive his final battle. The medium itself carries deep cultural resonance. Woodblock printing, long central to Japanese visu...

About the Artist

Tsukioka Kôgyo · 1869–1927

Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869–1927), born Hanyū Bennosuke in Tokyo's bustling Nihonbashi district as the second son of an innkeeper family, navigated a path from humble origins to mastery in Japanese printmaking. After his father's early death, he was raised by his mother's Sakamaki family and apprenticed in pottery painting under his uncle, a ceramics exporter in Yokohama. He briefly attended the Tokyo Sc...