About this work
**Moon and Smoke (Enchū no Tsuki) — No. 22 from *One Hundred Aspects of the Moon*, 1886**
The eye lands immediately on the figure at the centre: a fireman stands on a rooftop holding the standard of his district, dressed in a sashiko — a padded coat soaked in water to shield him from the flames.
His role as standard-bearer is to ensure proper identification of the team fighting the fire , and he performs it with unnerving calm. Unlike most fire prints of the era, the firemen here are motionless — in contrast, the smoke and flames roar and billow, obscuring the moon itself.
As fire, smoke, and glowing embers drift across the scene, the standard-bearer of a rival brigade can be seen atop a distant roof at the lower right. What makes the composition technically extraordinary is the treatment of the smoke: it has been given texture by splattering lime made from powdered chalk or sea shells, mixed with glue, onto the paper — a tactile, almost sculptural effect that no photograph quite captures.
This print belongs to *Tsuki Hyakushi* (*One Hundred Aspects of the Moon*), a collection of 100 large, moon-themed nishiki-e multicolored woodblock prints published in batches by Akiyama Buemon between 1885 and 1892.
This composition is one of the few designs in the entire series that does not illustrate a specific legend, story, or historical figure — a rare departure that grounds it in the raw, lived reality of Edo city life. Fires were so common in the crowded, wood-and-paper city of Edo that the flames were known as *Edo no hana* — "Flowers of Edo" — and the fire-fighting troops who fought these conflagrations were considered exciting, colorful characters who reached heroic status among the townspeople.
The *One Hundred Aspects of the Moon* was the most successful and still the most famous of Yoshitoshi's print series , and *Moon and Smoke* is among its most collectible designs — it commands higher prices than most prints in the series, frequently exceeding US$1,000 due to its scarcity.
As wall art, this print rewards a room that can hold its tension — a study, a library, a dark-walled hallway where the warm orange of the fire can ignite against the surrounding space. Yoshitoshi depicts a quieter moment during the chaos , which means the print never shouts: it draws you in, asking you to stand still alongside the fireman and reckon with the heat at your back. It speaks to collectors drawn
