Fujiwara no Yasumasa Playing His Flute in the Moonlight

Fujiwara no Yasumasa’s windblown robes contrast sharply with the strong, fixed pose of the robber Hakamadare Yasusuke in this woodblock print. According to legend, Yasumasa, a renowned poet and flutist who lived during the Heian period (740–1185), so charmed the would-be thief with his music and confident bearing that the outlaw meekly followed him home.