High Priest Kōmyō

The text by Takabatake Ransen, a writer of light prose as well as a journalist, explains that the person pictured is the high priest Kōmyō (Kōmyō-ajari), who supposedly lived at the end of the 1100s. Kōmyō was a follower of the general Minamoto Yoshinaka (1154–1184) and fought with him against the rival Taira clan. Notice the changes and choices Yoshitoshi made in the design process. The red ink indicates the first draft, and there the lance is sketchy. The preparatory drawing also includes an element of some sort in the bottom left corner that Yoshitoshi later discarded. The black ink came next and completed the design.