Hell Courtesan
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and silver on silk
Dimensions
{"image":{"height":1.442,"width":0.676},"overall":{"height":2.337,"width":0.921}}
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
Accession Number
1985.268
Tags
About this artwork
Kawanabe Kyōsai repeated this large-scale composition with variations a number of times. In this version, a famous 15th-century courtesan known for wearing a robe with images of the Buddhist hells stands before a folding screen. Legend has it that she was abducted by bandits, and wore the garment to symbolize her belief that her suffering in her current life was punishment for sins committed in a former life. Here, in a parody depiction of the garment, the courtesan stands in for Benzaiten, the ...