「応需惺々子暁楽画」 「第五号」「不動明王開化」

This print from Kyosai's Rakuga series, here attributed under the alternative artist name Seisaishi Kyoraku, takes as its subject Fudo Myo-o — the Immovable Wisdom King — set against the rhetoric of Meiji-era "bunmei kaika" (civilization and enlightenment). Fudo, traditionally depicted surrounded by flames with sword and lasso, was one of the most potent icons of esoteric Buddhism; placing him in a satirical context alongside the cultural transformations of the 1870s reflects Kyosai's characteristic irreverence toward the wholesale adoption of Western customs. The woodblock likely deploys bold sumi ink outlines with flat color passages in the vigorous, expressive linework that distinguishes the Rakuga series from more refined commercial production. Kyosai's brush-derived quality translates effectively into the woodblock medium here, maintaining the spontaneous feel of his paintings. The fifth number in the sequence, this print would have circulated as a single sheet in a loose satirical series produced to order.