Yotsuya Kaidan - Yotsuya Kaidan and Ukiyo-e

Yotsuya Kaidan and Ukiyo-e

Being a popular Kabuki play, Yotsuya Kaidan soon became a popular subject for ukiyo-e artists as well. In 1826, the same year the play opened at Sumiza Theater in Osaka, Shunkosai Hokushu produced The Ghost of Oiwa. She is recognizable by her drooping eyes and partial baldness.

An unusual image featuring a still-living Otsuya was depicted as one of the New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

Katsushika Hokusai created perhaps the most iconic image of Oiwa, in his series One Hundred Ghost Stories, in which he drew the face of her angry spirit merged with a temple lantern. Shunkosai Hokuei made a visual quotation of Hokusai's design in the illustration above, including Iemon as he turns to meet the apparition, drawing his sword. The lantern scene is a favorite, also being carved into netsuke. This image of Oiwa appears to give Akari Ichijou a cup of tea in her victory pose in the arcade game The Last Blade.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi illustrated the scene at Hebiyama, showing a still-lantern-headed Oiwa coming for Iemon, surrounded by snakes and smoke.

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