Ashura

Almost certainly a study after the eighth-century Ashura figure at Kofuku-ji in Nara, one of the most revered sculptural icons of Japanese Buddhism. The three-faced, six-armed dry-lacquer statue belongs to the hachibushu group of demigods and is known for the slender, youthful melancholy of its central face. Translating sculpture into woodblock required Kasamatsu to flatten volumetric form into outlined silhouette while preserving the figure's expressive subtlety, with bokashi shading carrying the modeling work across the cheeks and drapery. Religious statuary is unusual within Kasamatsu's predominantly landscape-driven output but fits a minor thread within post-war shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga, when artists turned to national heritage subjects. The print likely sets the figure against a plain or atmospheric ground rather than reconstructing its temple hall setting.