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Scene from a Ghost Story: The Okazaki Cat Demon
(Mukashibanashi no tawamure neko mata toshi o hete kojini kai o nasu zu 昔ばなしの戯猫又年をへて古寺に怪をなす圖)
(c. 1847)
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1993
- Gallery location
- Not on display
About this work
In this dramatic scene from the popular Edo period play Travelling the Fifty-three Stations Alone (Hitori Tabi Gojûsan Tsugi), travellers reach the town of Okazaki. Legend had it that a neko (cat demon) inhabited a temple on the outskirts of the town and, disguised as an old woman, would lure young women to their deaths. The ghostly old woman stands unassuming on the far right of the woodblock. That is, until you notice the wispy trail emerging and the neko appearing behind the travellers.
Artwork Details
(a-c) 38.0 × 76.8 cm (sheet) (overall)
printed in ink (in Japanese characters) l.r.: 一勇斎 国芳 画 / (censor seals) / (publisher’s seal)
(b) printed in ink (in image) c.l.: 因幡之助
printed in ink (in Japanese characters) (in image) l.l.: 一勇斎 国芳 画 / (censor seals) / (publisher’s seal)
(c) printed in ink (in Japanese characters) (in image) l.r.: 一勇斎 国芳 画/ (censor seals) / (publisher’s seal)
Purchased, 1993
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Gordon Darling Foundation