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]).
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of Asia
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Artist
- Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
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Title
- Onoe Kikugorō V as the Hag of Asajigahara
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Place
- Japan (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1890
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Medium
- Color woodblock prints; ōban triptych
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Dimensions
- 36.2 × 74.1 cm (14 5/16 × 29 3/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Purchased with funds provided by Nathalie Gookin in memory of Frederick W. Gookin
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Reference Number
- 1983.516
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IIIF Manifest
- 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.
