Ochiai (Utagawa) Yoshiiku: Torii Matasuke (Sold)

Artist: Ochiai (Utagawa) Yoshiiku (1833-1904)
Title: Torii Matasuke
Series: 28 Famous Murders with Verse (Eimei nijûhasshûku)
Date: 1867

Torii Matasuke swims against the current, a man’s head clenched in his teeth by the hair. These bloody scenes are known as chimidoro-e, and half of this series was done by Yoshitoshi, and half by Yoshiiku. This is a skillful underwater scene, and we can see Matasuke pushing off with his foot from the bottom of the river.  At the end of the Edo Period, a genre of plays called “Shiranami mono” in which many thieves appeared was popular, and the thieves and scoundrels in these plays were adored.

SKU: YII018S