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"PERHAPS HOKUSAI'S most unusual productions of this frenetic half-decade of print activity in the early 1830s were his 'Ghost Prints', a species hitherto met with mainly as an adjunct to depiction of supernatural Kabuki tableaux. Behind the creation of such prints and tales featuring wrongs and their revenge may be surmised the rising tide of indignation on the part of the masses at government corruption: a contempt for authority that was to be expressed even more openly in satirical prints by younger artists as Kuniyoshi. The Master's approach was characteristically bizarre and dramatic. The five striking prints of his Hyaku-monogatari ('Ghost Tales') of c. 1831 are all based on traditional Japanese supernatural tales, but each design comprises a haunting detail plucked out and enlarged - and featuring occasional touches of black humour. The set represents, in a sense, the culmination and distillation of Hokusai's long experience in the illustration of the 'Gothic novels' of his earlier years." (Richard Lane, op.cit.) Original impressions from this series (published in 1831) are extremely rare and likewise expensive, so this faithfully reproduced woodblock printed set, printed and published in 1893, has become a collector's item over the years. Size, each: chuban tate-e (c. 26 x 19 cms / 10 1/4" x 7 1/2") Condition: excellent impression, color and condition. - A very fine set. Ref. no.: # 611945 Archive entry only (set is sold) Reference: Richard Lane, "Hokusai - Life and Work"; New York, 1989; p.217; p.291 (with 3 b/w ills.), no. 143; plus col. ills. on pp. 218 & 222. |
Shunen ('Haunted Revenge') |
Sara-yashiki ('The Plate-mansion Ghost') |
O-Iwa-san ('The Ghost of O-Iwa') |
Kohada Koheiji ('The Ghost of Koheiji') |
Warai-Hannya ('Laughing Demon') |
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