The Killing Stone Of The Nasty Plain

Object Details

• Artist

  Tsukioka Kogyo 月岡耕漁 (1869-1927)

• Publisher

  Matsuki Heikichi 松木平吉

• Label

  In Sesshōseki, a group of monks is passing through an area in today’s Tochigi prefecture when one of them notices birds dropping dead in mid-flight around a strange stone—the killing stone (sesshōseki). One of the priests isboth shocked and intrigued. He asks a woman why the stone affects living things in such a sinister way, and she answers that it harbors the chagrined spirit of a lady named Tamamo, a fox spirit who held sway over the emperor. Onstage, the stone is a prop behind which the actor hides before emerging after helpers move its two halves apart. The actor’s mask is partly concealed beneath a sprawling wig, enhancing the character’s menacing appearance.

• 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

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

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints