Title：『馬主人の言辞に感じて 身命を委てこれを救ふ』
The Horse that Saved Its Master by Sacrificing itself after it Understood Its Master’s Words (Uma shujin no kotoba ni kanjite inochi wo sute kore wo sukū)

Date: March 1st, 1882

Artist: Kobayashi Toshimitsu (active in Meiji period) 小林年参

Proof: Tominaga Toshichika (1847-?) 富永年親

Medium: Polychrome woodblock printed; ink and color on paper

Book Title: second volume of the Illustrated Stories of Moral Education(Nishiki-e shushindan) 錦繪修身談 卷二

Publisher: Tsuji Keiji 辻敬之, Fukyū sha 普及舎

Editor, Tsuji Keiji 辻敬之, Yamana Tomesaburō 山名留三郎, Masukawa Kanyū 増川蚶雄

Description: One illustration from a six-volume work

This print was included in a separate volume of color illustrations for the set, Nishiki-e Shushindan. The Nishiki-e Shushindan is a series of volumes that contain moral stories from various countries for children. The series was produced by students of the famous print designer, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. The perspective and line style indicate that the print designer adopted techniques from Western art.

The specific illustration tells the story of a bandit in Damascus who was captured by a group of Turkish mercenaries. He was wounded and asked his horse to escape and inform his family of his love for them. The horse, moved by his words, carried him back home in its mouth. The horse died shortly afterward due to exhaustion.