An Illustrated Marriage of Apparitions
Unknown Artist
mid-1800s
Medium
handscroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
h. 29.2 cm · painting only: 25.9 × 1310.6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1987.194
About this artwork
The matchmaking, engagement, wedding, and birth of the first child of two apparitions, or bakemono, literally "things that change," are illustrated in this whimsical, humorous handscroll. Japanese folklore abounds with such strange creatures, most famously represented in handscrolls featuring a procession of 100 supernatural monsters. Aside from a textual preface and cartouches indicating the content of the scenes, the tale is told visually. The artist and whereabouts of the original handscroll ...