Parody of the play "Musume Dojoji"
- Date:
- c. 1801/05
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; kokonotsugiri-ban, surimono
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Typical Price
- Later reprint or reproduction (20th-century): $50–$300
- Good later impression (Edo-period): $1,000–$5,000
- Good early impression (vivid color, legible detail): $5,000–$20,000
- Fine early impression (exceptional color and condition): $20,000–$60,000
Hokusai's genre scenes, bijin-ga (beautiful women), and miscellaneous subjects represent the breadth of his career across more than seven decades. The market for non-landscape Hokusai prints has strengthened as collectors seek beyond the most famous designs.
Description
Musume Dojoji — the celebrated kabuki and dance piece depicting a young woman's jealous transformation into a vengeful demon — is here rendered as a playful parody in [surimono](/glossary/surimono) format around 1801–05. Hokusai's parodic treatment (mitate) substitutes comic or contemporary figures for the play's tragic protagonists, deflating the drama's supernatural intensity through the gentle irreverence characteristic of Edo popular culture.
More Prints by Katsushika Hokusai
The Fishermen of Katase Hauling in Their Nets: The Purple Shell (Murasakigai)
1821
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban
Burdock Root (Kurama gobo), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Horse Shells (Umagai), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Orange Orchids, from an untitled series of flowers
c. 1832
Color woodblock print; oban
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Frequently Asked Questions
Parody of the play "Musume Dojoji" was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in c. 1801/05.
Parody of the play "Musume Dojoji" depicts figures, kabuki, and mythology.