The Laughing Demoness (Warai Hannya), from the series "One Hundred Ghost Tales (Hyaku monogatari)"
1831-32
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
25.3 × 18 cm (9 15/16 × 7 1/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
47411
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Here, a female demon (hannya) with horns holds the decap-itated head of a child; blood oozes from the wounds caused by her long fingernails. This image references the legend of Kishimojin, a goddess from early Buddhism known in Sanskrit as Hariti. Originally, this goddess was a terri-fying ogress who was determined to eat all of the babies in the town of Rajgir, India. The Buddha heard the pleas of the townspeople and hid one of Hariti’s own children, leading her to understand the grief she had ...
About the Artist
Katsushika Hokusai · 1760–1849
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) stands as one of history's most influential artists, a Japanese master who revolutionized the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and profoundly shaped Western art. Born in the Katsushika district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to an artisan family, Hokusai lived through nearly nine decades of extraordinary creative evolution, adopting over thirty different artistic names t...