About These Prints

The covers of the three supplements issued in 1891 by the newspaper Yamato Shinbun やまと新聞 containing a transcript of the rakugo, Kikumoyō enmei bukuro (Chrysanthemum Pattern and a Fortune Bag). The transcript was created by Sakai Shōzō (1860-1915), a leading stenographer of oral narrative, of a performance by the rakugo performer (hanashika) Tachibanaya Enkyō IV (1865-1912). The relationship of the cover images to the story is unknown, nor have I been able to find an English language translation of the story. Source: Scholten Japanese Art website https://www.scholten-japanese-art.com/yamato_shinbun_supplements.php

The Meiji Restoration brought with it a major liberalization of journalistic practices. Just as ukiyo-e designs had begun to overtly feature current events following the loosening of restrictions in the late 1860s, the introduction of daily newspapers in 1872 marked a greater expansion of press freedom and provided a much-needed source of commissions for print designers. Taking advantage of a new source of revenue, Yoshitoshi became a frequent contributor to newspapers, starting in 1873 with The Postal Newspaper (Yubin hochi shinbun). He would also contribute to the newspapers Eiri Jiyu and the Jiyu no Tomoshibi before joining the emergent Yamato Shinbun in 1886. The Yamato Shinbun was an upstart daily during a period of innovation in the Japanese newspaper industry. Following its founding in 1886, it gained a readership of 20,000 by 1890,1 often at the expense of more established papers. Yoshitoshi was likely drawn to the Yamato Shinbun in particular through his friendship with the comic rakugo (storyteller) performer Sanyutei Encho (1839-1900), whose humorous stories in the paper were frequently paired with Yoshitoshi's illustrations.