Rashōmon, from the series One Hundred Nō Plays

Object Details

• Artist

  Tsukioka Kogyo 月岡耕漁 (1869-1927)

• Publisher

  Matsuki Heikichi 松木平吉

• Label

  The dynamic play Rashōmon recounts the meeting between the warrior Watanabe no Tsuna (953–1025)—a companion of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (944–1021) of the play Tsuchigumo—and the demon inhabiting Kyoto’s Rashōmon gate. Tsuna and Yorimitsu were favorite monster-slayers in both Japanese noh and kabuki theaters. The second half of the play takes place at the Rashōmon. The pace is slow until Tsuna encounters the demon, named Ibaraki, lurking behind the gate. Kōgyo has rendered a stylized version of the gate, with the young Tsuna in front of it, right before he cuts off the demon’s arm.

• 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, Robert O. Muller collection, Demon, Noh, Samurai, Japanese Art, Taisho era (1912 - 1926)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints