The ghost of a fisherman

Object Details

• Artist

  Tsukioka Kogyo 月岡耕漁 (1869-1927)

• Label

  A group of monks meets the specter of Akogi, who fished in sacred waters and committed the cardinal sin of killing in a holy place. For this sin, Akogi was wrapped in a straw blanket weighted with rocks and drowned in the sea. His spirit descended to hell. The play takes a disturbing turn as Akogi recounts in detail his torments in hell. The actor’s voice is slow and pained, conveying his agony through haunting enunciation that makes this one of the most distressing plays in the noh repertoire. Eventually, the spirit is swallowed again by the waves, shouting these final lines: “Save me, traveler! Save me, traveler! I am drowning again in the waves! I am drowning again in the waves!”

• Provenance

  To 2003

  Robert O. Muller

  From 2003

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution by gift from Robert O. Muller [1]

  Notes:

  [1] Accessioned on December 6, 2003. See Acquisition Consideration Form, in object file. From 2003-2023, the object was part of the National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection and on March 21, 2023, the work was internally transferred to the National Museum of Asian Art Collection.

• 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)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Robert O. Muller (1911-2003)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Robert O. Muller Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s

• Name

  Muller, Robert O.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Theater, Art, Robert O. Muller collection, Noh, Ghost, Japanese Art, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), Fishing

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints