Utamaro: Shoki the Demon Queller and Balancing Oni (SOLD)

Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro (1752-1806) (Attributed to)
Title: Shoki the Demon Queller and Oni Demon Dancing on a High Wire
Date: ca. 1800s

We See Shôki, the Demon Queller, drumming from a seated position while a small Oni demon in a sleeveless jacket balances on a rope, holding his fan for balance. They hold each other’s gaze as would a musician and a performer. This may be a scene of  chôshô-ki 跳鍾馗,  street artists who dressed as Shoki and performed for popular entertainment. This type of travelling street artist was popular during the end of Song Dynasty in China (960-1279) and in the Edo Period it was introduced into Japan. A demon-quelling street theater featuring Shoki seems to still be performed in China in contemporary times.

Although Utamaro designed several ghost images early in his career, this is a rather unusual and amusing work that may have been printed following his death, perhaps from a painting by the artist. The figures have charm and strength, and the way that the Oni balances on the rope is the work of a master artist. Utamaro I designed a number of works that did not feature bijin, such as an image of a tiger (Shibui, Ukiyo-e zuten Utamaro (1964), 249.3.4), a falcon, sparrows and bamboo, Hotei fishing, and a family of cranes--those black and white designs also lack publisher and seal information. 

Dimensions: oban (35 x 23.5 cm) Signature: Utamaro hitsu

Condition: Very good impression and condition. Some light staining to paper, lighter than shows in photograph.

SKU: UTA045