Moon above the Sea at Daimotsu Bay — Benkei
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1886
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 8 x 10 in, Wrong shape: a 15% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyThe warrior-monk Benkei stands at the storm-swept prow in Daimotsu Bay, prayer beads in hand, praying down the ghosts of the drowned Taira as the sea rises around Yoshitsune’s ship. The same night Kuniyoshi spread across a triptych of ghosts, Yoshitoshi distills to one man and the sea — the Noh play Funa Benkei compressed into a single standing figure. No ghost is shown; the swell itself is the haunting, and Benkei answers it with beads rather than the naginata he was famous for. The moon rides above the storm, unbothered. "Against the drowned, a prayer holds better than an oar."
- Maker
- Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
- Date
- 1886
- Medium of the original
- Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Rights
- Cleared for print
- Catalogue number
- PA-00421
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 8 x 10 in | Wrong shape: a 15% crop |
| 8 x 12 in | 143 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 11 x 14 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 12 x 16 in | 97 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 12 x 18 in | 95 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 16 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 15% crop |
| 16 x 24 in | 71 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 24 in | 65 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 20 x 30 in | 57 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 15% crop |
| 24 x 36 in | 47 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 40 in | 39 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 36 x 48 in | 32 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 40 x 60 in | 28 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,174 x 1,719 px, srgb, sRGB IEC61966-2.1
- Tone
- Darks 50, lights 203 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 9.12
The Floating World
Japanese woodblock prints, from ukiyo-e to Yoshitoshi, Goyō, Hasui and Yoshida.
All 64 pieces from The Floating World
