Study of a mountain goblin (tengu) dressed as a hermit (yamabushi)

Yoshitoshi was an excellent draftsman, and unlike many other print designers of his time, a fair number of his preparatory sketches and drawings have survived. This study of a tengu, or mountain goblin, was likely for a larger composition, since such supernatural beings were never featured in individual portraits. This mountain goblin is dressed as a hermit and carries a type of staff with metal rings that is often associated with hermits in Japanese art. Unusually, here the tengu holds it upside-down, apparently to use as a weapon. The tengu bares his teeth, probably because he is facing a hero who might slay him.