Considered the last of the true ukiyo-e artists. At the age of 11 became a pupil of Utagawa Kuniyoshi; also studied with Kikuchi Yosai and was adopted by Tsukioka Sessai. Made prints of historical and heroic subjects as well as scenes of contemporary life and its increasing Westernization. An artist of considerable imagination; his drawing was particularly fine.

After his master passed away, the turbulent times with the end of the Shogunate meant tough economic times for the young artist. By the 1870's he began to suffer with the mental illness and depression which would plague him on and off throughout the rest of his life.

By the 1880's he found popular and commercial success, including employment by a newspaper which gave him financial security. In 1885 his extremely popular series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon was published.

Yoshitoshi firmly believed in ghosts, and some of his most popular prints were of this genre, including the 1889 series New Form of 36 Ghosts.

He died from a cerebral hermorrhage at the age of 53.