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Onoe Kikugorō V as the Hag of Asajigahara

A work made of color woodblock prints; ōban triptych.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of color woodblock prints; ōban triptych.

Date:

1890

Artist:

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Japanese, 1839-1892

About this artwork

This image from the play The Lonely House shows a wicked hag preparing to murder a houseguest. She inadvertently kills her own daughter instead and, in shame and deep despair, repents her evil life. She ultimately attains Buddhahood through the grace of a bodhisattva—an enlightened person who delays nirvana to assist others—named Kannon.

The flowers and vines in this scene stand out against the eerie deep blackness surrounding the pale-skinned witch. The poem on the print reads, “Through the yūgao vines / A high wind moans; / At the eaves” (translated by Segi Shin’ichi in Yoshitoshi: The Splendid Decadent [1985]).

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Artist

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Title

Onoe Kikugorō V as the Hag of Asajigahara

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1890

Medium

Color woodblock prints; ōban triptych

Dimensions

36.2 × 74.1 cm (14 5/16 × 29 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Nathalie Gookin in memory of Frederick W. Gookin

Reference Number

1983.516

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/100477/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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