Comic One Hundred Turns of the Rosary (Dôke hyakumanben), from the series One Hundred Wildnesses by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakkyô)

A sheet from Kyôsai hyakkyô, Kyosai's celebrated series of satirical woodblock prints issued in the early Meiji period. The dôke (comic) treatment of hyakumanben — the mass nembutsu recitation ritual in which participants pass a large rosary loop — was a recurring subject within the series, with Kyosai producing multiple designs under the same title. This variant likely presents a distinct cast of participants: perhaps skeleton figures, tanuki, or other supernatural inhabitants of the Japanese comic imagination rendered in Kyosai's vigorous brushwork. The series was published by Maruya Jinpachi and is closely associated with Kyosai's giga (comic picture) tradition, descended from his early training in the Kanô school and his later study of Tosa and [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) methods. Printed on [washi](/glossary/washi) with subtle [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations, these sheets exemplify his command of satirical woodblock technique.