Toyohara Sumiaki, a 16th century court musician, wanders alone into the wilderness of Kitayama when a pack of wolves surrounds him. By playing his flute, he is able to pacify the pack and escape without being injured.

This woodblock print is from Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's One Hundred Aspects of the Moon series. No. 32 in set. The designs for "One Hundred Aspects" are based on tales from Japanese and Chinese history as well as contemporary literature and theatre of the time. It was a popular series published in Japan during the late 19th century during a period of modernisation.

Yoshitoshi is often regarded as one of the last great masters of ukiyo-e (a genre of Japanese art that flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries). He worked in Japan during the Meiji restoration (1868-1912), which replaced the feudal regime of Edo Japan (1603-1868).