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

This print from the Kyôsai hyakuzu series likely depicts a ghost or supernatural encounter subject — among the most frequently reproduced imagery associated with Kyosai in Western collections. His yūrei compositions depart from the standard convention established by Maruyama Ôkyo: where Ôkyo's ghosts are mournful and passive, Kyosai's are agitated, aggressive, sometimes comedic. The brushwork in such subjects is deliberately destabilized — outlines thicken and thin unpredictably, suggesting the ontological instability of the figure depicted. Block-cutters working from Kyosai's designs preserved this irregularity, resisting the tendency to normalize line weight. Printed on washi with a predominantly cool palette, the composition may use minimal bokashi washes to suggest the pale luminescence associated with supernatural subjects in Japanese visual tradition.