Yūten Swallowing the Sword of Fudō 1885

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi created this woodblock print depicting Yūten Swallowing the Sword of Fudō in nineteenth-century Japan. The image is a triptych showing a dramatic scene with supernatural figures. Yoshitoshi made prints during a time of rapid social and political change in Japan, as the country opened to the West and modernized. His prints reflect both an interest in traditional Japanese subjects, like folklore and warrior tales, as well as the influence of Western art. Woodblock prints were a popular medium and were often used to convey political messages or to satirize contemporary society. This print uses established visual codes to represent its figures: the flaming deity Fudō, the ascetic Yūten, and a female ghost. Scholarly research into the Edo and Meiji periods would illuminate the folklore and religious beliefs that underpin this work. In this way, the meaning of the image is contingent on its social and institutional context.