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Modern Civilization in Hell, no. 1 from the series Kyosai Scribbles (Kyosai rakuga)

Modern Civilization in Hell, no. 1 from the series Kyosai Scribbles (Kyosai rakuga)

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Kawanabe Kyōsai

Scenes from hell have a long tradition in the Buddhist art of Japan. The standard images include graphic depictions of horrifying punishments inflicted by demons. The pitiful souls who occupy hell are sent by Enma, the King of Hell, who judges their earthly deeds. In Kyosai’s view, Japan’s often humorous attempts to modernize after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 extended all the way to the afterlife. Enma, seated and covered with a sheet in the upper right corner, is having his hair cut short. His female attendant, wearing a western-style dress and bonnet, presents the King of Hell with a top hat and coat. Men in traditional Japanese and Chinese costume “modernize” the demons by clothing them and removing their horns in demeaning ways.
Artist
Kawanabe Kyōsai
(Japanese, 1831 - 1889)
Title
Modern Civilization in Hell, no. 1 from the series Kyosai Scribbles (Kyosai rakuga)
Date
1874
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
336 x 226 mm Overall
Credit
John H. Van Vleck Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
2004.53
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 209, no. 202

  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/2/2009–11/26/2009
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008

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