Hell Courtesan
Kawanabe Kyôsai · 1871–89 · Cleveland Museum of Art
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From the museum
Kawanabe Kyōsai repeated this large-scale composition with variations a number of times. In this version, a famous 15th-century courtesan known for wearing a robe with images of the Buddhist hells stands before a folding screen. Legend has it that she was abducted by bandits, and wore the garment to symbolize her belief that her suffering in her current life was punishment for sins committed in a former life. Here, in a parody depiction of the garment, the courtesan stands in for Benzaiten, the goddess of everything that flows, while the remaining members of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune appear on her outer robe. One of them reports sins to Enma, the King of Hell, who is writing out his judgments on the recently deceased. The word for longevity appears multiple times in gold and silver on her outer robe.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Details
- Maker
- Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831–1889)
- Date
- 1871–89
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and silver on silk
- Dimensions
- Image: 144.2 x 67.6 cm (56 3/4 x 26 5/8 in.); Overall: 233.7 x 92.1 cm (92 x 36 1/4 in.)
- Place of origin
- Japan
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · Not on view
- Credit line
- The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
More by Kawanabe Kyôsai
Calligraphy and Painting PartyKawanabe Kyôsai · 1880May: Shoki the Demon Queller Riding on a Tiger, Subjugating Goblins, from the series "Of the Twelve Months: the Fifth (Junikagetsu no uchi: gogatsu)"Kawanabe Kyôsai · 1887
Full Moon with Crow on Plum BranchKawanabe Kyôsai · 1880sBattle of Nanba (Nanba senki no uchi)Kawanabe Kyôsai · after 1871
Shown in
- Japan’s Floating World 日本の浮世Apr 8, 2022 – Oct 9, 2022
- Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland CollectionsDec 12, 2004 – Apr 10, 2005
- A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith CollectionSep 14, 1988 – Nov 13, 1988
- The Year in Review for 1985Feb 12, 1986 – Apr 20, 1986
- Ukiyo-e: Floating WorldJun 11, 1973 – Sep 2, 1973
