Eye of Atrocity, The : Superviolent Art by Yoshitoshi (Ukiyo-e Master) Paperback – 4 May 2015

The pictures are clear and colourful and more gory than any blood drenched Samurai slasher flick. As a collector of art books i knew what i was getting into when making my purchase so therefore i don't really need to be patronised by the message on the front cover informing me that the book contains graphic images violence. Its the reason i bought it after all.

Hmm. No, don't bother, a large part of the book is terrible blow-ups of apparently random sections of the pictures on the facing pages. This is outright padding and the blown up sections are so blurry you see more detail in the original! Also little commentary or explanation of the images. Seriously, don't bother, I really wish I hadn't.

This is one of the few recent publications in English available on the 19th century Japanese print artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.This new book should therefore to be welcomed, particularly as it deals exclusively with the violent and bloody prints that have rightly or wrongly given the artist his notoriety.Just over 80 such prints are reproduced in full page colour, with blown up details and a thumb-nail index towards the end.Notwithstanding the relatively low price, the poor quality of reproduction is to be deplored as is the regrettable absence of discussion - serious or otherwise - of the prints themselves. No attempt is made to offer the reader any insight into their artistic significance, the historical events that inspired them or the interaction between image and text, central to any real appreciation of the grandeur of Yoshitoshi.The feeling that the art of this great and complex personality who has been described as "the last master of Ukiyo-e" is sadly reduced to mere superficial sensationalism, ostensibly nothing more than gory images to be gloated over, is reinforced by the tag printed on the front cover in capitals : WARNING ADULTS ONLY VIOLENCE.