Moon over Daimotsu Bay: Benkei

One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyakushi) is Yoshitoshi’s most celebrated and ambitious series. First published from 1885 to 1892, each design features a literary or pictorial image of the moon, drawing from Japanese and Chinese history, legend, and literature. The warrior monk Benkei (1155–1189) is standing in the prow of the ship from which he and the famous general Minamoto Yoshitsune (1159–1189) are trying to escape from Yoshitsune’s older half brother, Yoritomo (1147–1199), during the fight over control of the country. Hit by a tempestuous storm, Benkei is praying, trying to prevent their slain enemies from rising from the dead and drowning them. The idea for this print came from the play Benkei in the Boat (Funa Benkei), which was adapted from a Noh play to Kabuki theater and premiered just two months before the print was published.