May: Shoki the Demon Queller Riding on a Tiger, Subjugating Goblins, from the series "Of the Twelve Months: the Fifth (Junikagetsu no uchi: gogatsu)"
Kawanabe Kyôsai
1887
Medium
Color woodblock prints; oban triptych
Dimensions
35.7 × 73.2 cm (14 1/16 × 28 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
103334
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The tiger clutches one ferocious goblin in his jaws while Shōki’s sword subdues the others. “May” is printed in English on the right edge of the design, perhaps in an effort to make the print seem more fashionable at a moment when Western influence in Japan was growing. Images of Shōki are often hung to celebrate the Boys’ Day festival, which takes place in May.