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 visual culture, allowed artists like Kôgyo to reproduce subtle gradations of color and delicate line work that evoke the restrained elegance of Noh stagecraft. Measuring roughly 25 by 37 centimeters, the print’s intimate scale invites close viewing, much as an audience member might lean forward to catch every gesture and mask detail during a live performance. Today housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Arts of Asia collection, “Sanemori” preserves a vanishing theatrical tradition at the dawn of the twentieth century. Kôgyo’s sensitive portrayal helps modern viewers appreciate Noh’s quiet intensity and the enduring power of Japanese storytelling across centuries.

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...