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

Art Historical Context

Step into the ethereal world of Japanese Noh theater with *Tadanori*, a stunning color woodblock print fromukioka Kôgyo's 1898 series *Pictures of No Perform (Nogaku Zue)*. Kôgyo (1869–192), a master of thekiyo-e tradition during Japan's Meiji era, specialized in capturing the dramatic intensity of Noh, a classical performance art dating back to the14th century. This print the ghost of Tadanori, a tragic warrior from the epic *Tale of the Heike embodying themes of impermanence and spectral longing central to Noh narratives. Measuring about 25.2 × 37.4 cm, the work showcases the precision of w...

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...