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Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889)
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk; a King of Hell holds up a mirror, looking gleefully down at the courtesan and attendant reflected on it; signed Seisei Kyosai ga and sealed Ichiji sen shi
With wood box inscribed Kyosai sensei jigoku dayu no zu and with lot tag 48
48 1/2 x 19 1/2in (123.2 x 49.5cm)
Footnotes
Provenance: Baron Honda, sold Kanazawa Bijutsu Club, 1936
Published: Tokyo Honda Danshaku ke Hayashi ke/Zohin nyusatsu mokuroku (Baron Honda Family and Hayashi Family/catalogue of collection), Showa 11 (1937), Kanazawa Bijutsu Kurabu.
Kyosai is known for his lively compositions and virtuoso draftsmanship. His life straddled both the Edo and Meiji periods and was also popular as a caricaturist despite his multiple arrests by the shogunate and the new government. He made several paintings based on similar subject matter – the King of Hell ready to hand out punishments to sinners. The large figure in the background is the King of Hell, symbolized by the character "O" (king) in his crown. The sinner awaiting punishment is shown reflected in his mirror, revealing the wrong-doings that led the deceased to his realm. In this painting expression on the face of the woman is somber, and her hair disheveled, yet she is dressed in beautifully decorated robes. The obi tied in the front indicates she had been a courtesan in her lifetime. Perhaps the apsara or heavenly deity shown on her obi is a symbol of repentance as she is about to face her fate.
The title on the box and the catalogue entry for the Bijutsu Club sale identifies this painting as Jigoku daiyu (Hell Courtesan), a subject for which Kyosai was well known.
























