Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Invoked by Princess Takiyasha, Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Artwork Overview

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Invoked by Princess Takiyasha
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Invoked by Princess Takiyasha
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Invoked by Princess Takiyasha
circa 1844, Edo period (1600–1868)
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, artist
1797–1861
Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Invoked by Princess Takiyasha, circa 1844, Edo period (1600–1868)
Portfolio/Series title: Ghost Skeleton
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): a 375 x 255 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): b 372 x 256 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): c 375 x 255 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 3/4 x 10 1/16 in
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 5/8 x 10 1/16 in
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 3/4 x 10 1/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 36 in
Credit line: Museum purchase: Weare-West Fund
Accession number: 1984.0032.a,b,c
Not on display
Add to portfolio

If you wish to reproduce this image, please submit an image request

Images

Label texts

Archive Label date unknown:
Inscription: "At the old palace of Soma, Takiyasha the daughter of Masakado gathered her alies by witchcraft. Oya Taro Mitsukuni went there to test the demons and eventurally destroyed her."
In a different treatment of the "hyakki yako" theme, as the princess chants a spell in the devastated palace, the ghost appears as a skeleton from behind the torn bamboo blind to haunt Mitsukuni. The accurately drawn skeleton seems especially realstic due to Kuniyoshi's shading effects.

Exhibitions

Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural
Stephen Addiss, curator
1985
Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural
Stephen Addiss, curator
1985
Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural
Stephen Addiss, curator
1985
Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural
Stephen Addiss, curator
1986
Demons, Ghosts, and Magical Manifestations
Rachel Quist, curator
2020
Brosseau Center for Learning: Japanese Art
Michael VanHartingsveldt, curator
Sherry Fowler, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
2024

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
Episode 209 Jan-2010, Rachel Voorhies I’m David Cateforis with another Art Minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. A giant skeleton, summoned by the chanting of Princess Takiyashi, looms over two struggling samurai in a print triptych by the nineteenth-century Japanese woodblock artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi.The story of Takiyashi and the samurai Mitsukuni has its roots in a tenth century rebellion against the Emperor that became embellished over time to include the drama of the supernatural. In the story, Mitsukuni is sent by the Emperor to inspect the leader of the rebellion’s ruined fortress. There he encounters Takiyashi, the leader’s daughter. She attempts to seduce him into joining her in rebellion, but he rejects her advances. Enraged, Takiyashi uses witchcraft to summon the ghostly giant skeleton to destroy Mitsukuni. In Kuniyoshi’s print, the skeleton stretches across two of the three sheets of paper, creating a feeling of widescreen spectacle. To see this and other prints by Kuniyoshi, visit the Spencer Print Room on Walk-ins Welcome Fridays from 10 to noon or 1 to 4. With thanks to Rachel Voorhies for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.