One Hundred Aspects of the Moon: Japanese Woodblock Prints by Yoshitoshi Paperback – January 22, 2003

At the first layer, these are beautiful images. Delicately drawn and colored, widely varied in tone and mood, each of these gems supports all the others in becoming much more than the sum of parts.Then there's the masterful craft that creates each image: a separate wood carving for each of the colors, carefully aligned to for a united whole. Once carved, the printmaker inked each, often in gradients of tone, and put them to paper - maintaining perfect registration of each block's contribution.The depictions carry meaning, too, silent statements of the esthetics, sense of beauty, and daily life of classical Japan. But even those embody slices of the larger culture: heroes and demons, historical and mythic figures, adventures and anecdotes known to the educated classes of the time. Chasing each reference to learn the story behind it could become a lifetime's obsession.I could recommend this just for its glorious reproductions of Asian masterworks - but, at each depth of understanding, it's far more than that.-- wiredweird

To enjoy and understand Japanese culture

Having returned several times to see a museum exhibit of Yoshitoshi's "Ghosts", I read the www.Wikipedia.com article on this Japanese master, to discover ONE HUNDRED ASPECTS OF THE MOON. A borrowed copy from the library convinced me that I wanted my own and I continue to be very pleased that I found it. The quality of the print replication is very good, the images themselves are wonderful in their composition, color and detail, and the author's notes are an additional "perk".

I love ordering books on Amazon. It's like getting a present from me, to me...and it's always something that I want!!Well, I got this little present from myself.. Its left me with a this "What? That's it?! I want more!!" feeling.Really, its given me everything I've wanted since I was first introduced to this series' existence last year: all one hundred of Yoshitoshi's prints, with a little description paragraph explaining the context for each of them.But really, like, the myths and stories are so abridged, I really would like the longer versions of them!For instance, #19 "Chang E Flees To The Moon" To me, its such a tragic, scandalous story, I think more than two sentences should be devoted to it.Other than that, the quality of this book is fabulous. The prints are of a really good quality, and the designs are more intricate and diverse than what I've come to expect from the style. I really liked the commentary on Japanese history and the transformation these people were under at the time these prints were made. My edition was soft cover, but of good quality and doesn't look like it will tear easily. The inner and outer cover also have an inner fold that serves as bookmark. Very handy :)

This is a truly beautifully presented little book! The titles are in roomaji as well as English and each illustration is clearly dated, which is very helpful. The accompanying stories are short, sweet, informative and immensely readable, giving a great insight into Japanese folk lore. The illustrations are beautifully printed on quality paper. I highly recommend this book!

My son and I had happened to see an exhibition of some of Yoshitoshi's woodblock prints at the Art Museum in Santa Barbara. I found them absolutely absorbing, elegant, wryly suggestive, and beautiful. I ordered this book as soon as we got home and have sent copies to friends at every opportunity. This is a spectacular collection.

Splendid. I bought this after seeing a print bu this artist at the Chicago Institute. I look at this often--the color combinations are stupendous.

not well printed. with todays technology the quality of the printing should be better