Tsuchigumo, from Prints of One Hundred Noh Plays (Nōgaku hyakuban) 「土蜘」 『能樂百番』

Object Details

• Artist

  Tsukioka Kogyo 月岡耕漁 (1869-1927)

• Publisher

  Matsuki Heikichi 松木平吉

• Label

  The warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu (944– 1021) is one of the most cherished heroes in Japanese visual arts and literature, and he is associated with several fantastical tales. One of these, the eerie story of Tsuchigumo, has become so beloved, it was adopted into the kabuki theater and has been depicted by countless artists. In the story, Yorimitsu has been struck by illness, and nothing seems to help. A strange monk soon reveals that an evil spider, the so-called “earth spider” (tsuchigumo), has cast a wicked spell over the warrior. It becomes clear the monk himself is the earth spider in disguise, spinning his poisonous net over Yorimitsu.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints (March 23 to October 6, 2024)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Robert O. Muller Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1920s

• Name

  Tsukioka, Kogyo, Matsuki, Heikichi

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Theater, Art, Spiders, Robert O. Muller collection, Noh, Japanese Art, Caves, Taisho era (1912 - 1926)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints