
−
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Waseda University
- Image courtesy of
- Waseda University
Description
This Kawanabe Kyosai woodblock print is catalogued without a confirmed title or series identification. Among Kyosai's most distinctive subjects are his depictions of demons (oni), skeletons (gaikotsu), and supernatural beings drawn from Japanese Buddhist and folk traditions. These subjects — playful or terrifying depending on context — allowed him to exploit the expressive potential of extreme gesture, unconventional anatomy, and dynamic composition. His training under Kanô Tokinobu from age nine gave him a rigorous grounding in academic brush technique, while his simultaneous immersion in the popular ukiyo-e tradition through study with Kuniyoshi expanded his visual vocabulary to encompass genre, narrative, and caricature. This print reflects the polychrome woodblock production methods of mid-nineteenth-century Tokyo.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai

Tenpôzan in Osaka: Viewing Children's Sumo (Naniwa Tenpôzan kodomo sumô shôran), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô
1863
Woodblock print

Kyosai, Royal Academy, London, FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING
2022
Original Museum Lithographic Exhibition Poster

from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print

Gontazaka, from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
Woodblock print
Frequently Asked Questions
− was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).