Description
Important original woodblock print by the artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) depicting Konjin Chogoro (金神長五郎) on whose huge body we can admire an extraordinary tattoo of peonies that seem to fall from a waterfall. Legend has it that one day the famous sumo wrestler stopped to rest at a ruined temple and that, at night, the guardian statue Kongorikishi (金剛力士) came to life to challenge him to a wrestling match in which however, as we see in this rare print, the deity was overwhelmed.
The famous work, taken from the series “Sagas of Beauty and Bravery” (美勇水滸伝), is signed with the pseudonym Kaisai Yoshitoshi (魁斎芳年) and was made in 1866 by the publisher Omiya Kyujiro (近江屋久次郎), owner of Kiyudo (亀遊堂).
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙) despite the right signs of aging, including a slight overall discoloration and some small antique restoration on the margins, is in good general condition.
