Scene from a Ghost Story: The Okazaki Cat Demon (Mukashi banashi no tawamure nekomata wo hete koji ni kai wo nasu zu) 「昔ばなしの戯猫又をへて古寺に怪をなす図」

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798-1861)

• Label

  This work illustrates a famous episode in ghost kabuki, where the monstrous cat of Okazaki possesses various female characters in an attempt to protect its lair. The performance depicted here is from a special program in 1847 that marked the retirement of the lead actor, Onoe Kikugorō III (1784–1849), and commemorated the thirty-third memorial service for his adoptive father, who was also a specialist of ghost roles. Following the production, Kikugorō left the stage to open a store selling pounded rice cakes (mochi). However, the allure of the theater was too strong, and he returned to the stage less than a year later, performing until his death in 1849.

• 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

  The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1840s, 1690s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Utagawa, Kuniyoshi

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Theater, Cats, Art, Animals, Ghost, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints