Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan|Onoe Matsusuke as the Ghost of the Murdered Wife Oiwa, in "A Tale of Horror from the Yotsuya Station on the Tokaido Road"
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm); W. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Louis V. Ledoux, 1927
Accession Number
JP1492
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the eerie world of Edo-period Japan with Utagawa Toyokuni's captivating 1812 woodblock print, *Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan: Onoe Matsusuke the Ghost of the Murder Wife Oiwa*. This *nishiki-e* (brocade picture) showcases kabuki actor Onoe Matsuke I in a dramatic *yakusha-e* role, embodying the vengeful spirit of Oiwa from Tsuruya Nanboku IV's chilling ghost tale *Yotsuya Kaidan*. Toyokuni, a master of the ukiyo-e school, expertly captures the actor's wild, disheveled hair and haunting expression, evoking the supernatural terror that gripped audiences. Created during Japan's Edo period (16...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni I · 1777–1835
Japanese, 1777–1835