Yoshitoshi 芳年: Onoe Kikugoro V as the Hag of Adachi (SOLD)

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 芳年 (1839-1892)
Title: Onoe Kikugorô V as the Hag of Adachi
Date: 1890

Onoe Kikugorô V wields a large kitchen knife as the Hag of Adachi Moor, from the kabuki play “The Lonely House”. The poem reads: ‘Through the yûgao vines, a high wind moans at the eaves’. The kabuki actor Onoe Kikugorô was a close friend of Yoshitoshi, and here we feel the intimacy of their connection.  The scene is from one of the most famous and terrifying stories in Japanese folklore, that of the bloodthirsty hag who lives alone on the moor, waiting for victims. Here Yoshitoshi presents a combination of what would have been seen on the kabuki stage by theatergoers with the shriveled and emaciated figure of a decrepit old crone of the imagination. These late kabuki triptychs are considered some of Yoshitoshi’s most powerful designs. He has pared down the background to just the yugao vine against a deep black.

Condition: Excellent impression. Very good color and condition.
Dimensions: oban triptych (36.2 x 72 cm)
Publisher: Akiyama Buemon
Seal: Taiso; Block cutter is Hori Yû
Signature: Ôkokkeidôju Yoshitoshi ga

SKU: YOT774