Female Samurai Ghost
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
$2,000–$15,000. Common prints: $2,000–$4,000. Key value factors: Kitano's sensuous Osaka-style bijin-ga have strong collector demand. His paintings command significantly higher prices.
An unusual departure from Tsunetomi's customary bijin-ga subjects, this oban-format woodblock print depicts a female figure from the supernatural realm: the ghost of a woman warrior. The subject draws on a rich tradition of ghost imagery in Japanese art, from Maruyama Okyo's famous yurei paintings to the specter prints of Yoshitoshi. Tsunetomi applies his refined figure-drawing skills to this otherworldly subject, likely rendering the ghostly samurai with the same careful attention to facial expression and costume detail that he brought to his courtesans and geisha. The combination of warrior and ghost tags suggests a specific narrative source, possibly a kabuki play or a tale from Japanese folklore in which a female warrior returns after death. Tsunetomi's training in Nihonga painting equipped him to handle the atmospheric effects of transparency, pallor, and eerie light that ghost subjects demand.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Female Samurai Ghost was created by Kitano Tsunetomi (北野恒富).
Female Samurai Ghost was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Female Samurai Ghost depicts mythology and warriors.
