Japan supernatural

This is a scene from the tragic love story of the priest Seigen Dōshin and a male acolyte. The acolyte committed suicide in the hope he would return as a woman and be able to marry the priest. He was reborn as Sakurahime (Princess Sakura) and suffered horribly before deciding to become a nun. At the temple, Seigen discovers Sakurahime’s former identity but the complexities of her life keep them apart. Here Seigen is depicted dishevelled with torn clothing, punished for his affair and doomed to a life of destitution.

Nakamura Utaemon IV (1798–1852) was a kabuki actor who excelled in both male and female roles. This image shows a moment of high drama in a kabuki play in which a warrior is confronted by a ghost. The ghost’s unearthly status is revealed by its bluish paleness and the accompanying flame (_hitodama_), which serves an indicator of the supernatural.

Nikki Danjō was a wicked magician, villain and murderer who plotted to kill the head of the Date clan. The scroll in his mouth alludes to him stealing a deed of inheritance from the child of Lord Sendai. When discovered by the nursemaid Tsubone Masaoka, Nikki Danjō turned himself into a rat holding the scroll in his mouth. The nursemaid’s husband struck the rat. Here, Nikki Danjō has returned to human form, his bleeding forehead bearing the result of the blow.

Jigoku-dayū was a famous entertainer whose name is translated as Hell Courtesan (_Jigoku_ meaning ‘hell’ and _dayū_, a reference to a highranking courtesan). She wore a robe embellished with scenes of hell, perhaps to remind her of the sins of her existence over many lifetimes. Watching a group of courtesans dancing with the eccentric Zen monk Ikkyū (1394–1481), Jigoku-dayū became enlightened and saw the women as skeletons rather than elaborately dressed women. This epiphany about the impermanence of beauty and pleasure changed Jigoku-dayū, who removed her hell robe and hung it over a kimono stand. Here she wears robes decorated with lotus leaves and blossoms, symbols of purity.

Two classrooms are shown filled with goblins, demons and monsters. At the top right is Shōki, the demon queller. He is depicted as a teacher in European clothing and cap, brandishing a cane and instructing the student demons in hell-related vocabulary. In the second classroom (middle left) a _kappa_ water goblin points to the Romanised letters on the board. The words are associated with things _kappa_ enjoy. These include _shirikotama_, a mythical ball inside the human anus; _gioori_ (_kyūri_) which means cucumber; and _kawa_ or river. The artist Kyōsai was known for his critical commentary on the international modernisation of Japan in the Meiji period (1868–1912).

Known as Raikō, Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948–1021) was a nobleman who worked with his associate Watanabe no Tsuna to rid Kyoto of its many demons. One night, a feverish Raikō believed he was being attacked by monsters and called for protection, but his attendants fell asleep and Raikō was attacked by a giant earth spider. His weak cries and a trail of blood attracted Watanabe who used an uprooted tree trunk to kill the enormous spider. Once the spider was vanquished, Raikō made a full recovery. Yoshitoshi’s image shows the delirious Raikō fumbling for his sword while the spider lures him into its web.

Ostensibly tranquil, this scene shows Oiwa feeding her infant. Shortly after, she was poisoned by her neighbour Oume who coveted Oiwa’s husband, Iemon. When the poison made Oiwa hideous, cruel Iemon could not stand to look at her and his behaviour drove Oiwa to suicide. A servant chastised Iemon for his abuse of Oiwa and Iemon murdered him. He nailed them both to a plank which he threw in the river. Iemon then married Oume, but when he lifted her wedding hood it was Oiwa’s face he saw. He then murdered his new bride and her father, who he mistook for the dead servant. He later drowned himself. Perhaps Japan’s most famous ghost story, the Yosuya ghost story premiered on the kabuki stage in 1825 and first appeared in cinema in 1912.