Yoshitoshi's 'Moral Lessons through Pictures of Good and Evil ' (Kyōkun zenaku zukai) 1880

Introduction

教訓善悪圖解

This is a series of caricatures drawn by Yoshitoshi that illlustrate lessons in morality . There were originally issued as paired chūban prints which are, these days, commonly found separate. The chūban pairs illustrate a "good" example of behavior, followed by a "bad" example. It is interesting that many of these examples are still quite valid in our society today. This is one of a number of large chūban series that Yoshitoshi created in this timeframe. The small figures with the globe heads dancing around these prints represent good and evil, and are often seen in ukiyoe prints.

Technical details

• Dates: 1880 (2,11)
• Size: Chūban
• Signed: Yoshitoshi (also, Yonejiro Tsukioka in margin)
• Seal:
• Publishers: Tsunashima
• Engravers:

Previous cataloguings

	Roger. S. Keyes, "Courage and Silence: A Study of the Life and
		Color Woodblock Prints of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1839-1892",
		Cinncinnati, 1982

We use the Keyes numbers to order the prints below. Please let us know if you can provide a missing image.

The Prints

Thumbnail	Number	Date	Title	Description
	#01	2/1880	A dignified nobleman in western dress
	#02	2/1880	A dissolute nobleman drinking with geisha.
	#03	2/1880	Students pursuing their studies.
	#04	2/1880	Students neglecting their studies.
	#05	2/1880	A servant who serves her master well sewing by lamp.
	#06	2/1880	Servants slandering their master by a well.
	#07	2/1880	A filial daughter minding a kettle.
	#08	2/1880	An unfilial daughter eloping.
	#09	2/1880	A son who brings great success to his family recoking accounts.
	#10	2/1880	A son who loses his family's wealth in a brothel.
	#11	2/1880	An honest prostitute seated in a rickshaw.
	#12	2/1880	An unscrupulous prostitute with a client.
	#13	2/1880	Apprentices who follow their master's advice working by lamplight.
	#14	2/1880	Apprentices who do not regard their master's care at a streetstall.
	#15	2/1880	A geisha who does her work well leaving a client.
	#16	2/1880	A fickle geisha staying on with a client.
	#17	2/1880	A wife who serves her husband well offering tea.
	#18	2/1880	A wife who contradicts her husband being beaten.
	#19	2/1880	A priest who guides people in the path of virtue exhorting an audience.
	#20	2/1880	A priest who destroys the Buddhist path seducing a woman.
	#21	11/1880	A considerate wife: couple preparing for bed.
	#22	11/1880	A crafty wife: mother-in-law scolding husband.
	#23	11/1880	A stable-minded father: couple eating with father.
	#24	11/1880	A strangely-inclined father: old man tugging girl's sleeve.
	#25	11/1880	Good students: boys writing before teacher.
	#26	11/1880	A bad boy: mother striking roped boy.
	#27	11/1880	An honest rickshaw driver.
	#28	11/1880	A bad-mannered rickshaw driver.
	#29	11/1880	A friendly, dutiful wet nurse.
	#30	11/1880	A dissolute, unreliable wet nurse.
	#31	11/1880	A bride who follows the woman's path: woman massaging her husband.
	#32	11/1880	A bride who avoids the woman's path: husband surprises wife with boy.
	#33	11/1880	A foreman who helps employees: discussion by brazier.
	#34	11/1880	A wicked foreman ordering employees.
	#35	11/1880	High-class actors in western and traditional dress.
	#36	11/1880	Low-class actor with woman on veranda.
	#37	11/1880	A doctor who helps people with their lives taking a woman's pulse.
	#38	11/1880	A doctor who destroys lives driven from a household.
	#39	11/1880	Industrious carpenters.
	#40	11/1880	Stubborn laborers in street fight.