Geisha Accompanying Dancing Measles with Samisen 1862

This is a woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, whose work spans the late Edo and early Meiji periods in Japan. The print depicts a geisha accompanying the dancing spirit of measles, alongside another figure associated with the disease. Yoshitoshi made this print during a time of significant social and political change as Japan opened to the West, leading to an influx of new ideas and technologies, including medical knowledge. His work highlights the tensions between traditional beliefs and modern science, reflecting anxieties about disease and public health in a rapidly transforming society. The print can be seen as a critique of traditional responses to illness, questioning the efficacy of old customs in the face of modern medicine. To understand Yoshitoshi's work fully, we need to research the social history of disease in Japan and the role of art in shaping public perceptions of health and medicine. What we see in this image is a testament to the role of artists in commenting on and challenging the social structures of their time.