「道化百万編 右」
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Ritsumeikan University
- Image courtesy of
- Ritsumeikan University
Description
The right sheet opening the Doke Hyakumanben [triptych](/glossary/triptych), a comic work by Kyosai whose title invokes the image of buffoonery repeated endlessly. As the first panel encountered by the viewer, this sheet likely introduces the principal cast of comic figures — drawn from kabuki doke roles, mythological pranksters, or recognizable urban types — setting the narrative and visual tone for the sequence. Kyosai's line work in his comic prints is characteristically bold and fluent, capable of conveying exaggerated expression and physical comedy with minimal means. Facial distortion, splayed limbs, and collapsed postures are typical of his doke vocabulary. The [oban](/glossary/oban) format gives ample room for figures in motion, and the color scheme would likely rely on a limited, assertive palette suited to popular comic print production of the late Edo period.