''Female Ghost'' is an ''

ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

'' woodblock print dating to 1852 by celebrated

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

artist

Utagawa Kunisada Utagawa Kunisada ( ja, 歌川国貞; 1786 – 12 January 1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (, ), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist. He is considered the most popular, prolific and commercially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodbloc ...

, also known as

Toyokuni III Utagawa Kunisada ( ja, 歌川国貞; 1786 – 12 January 1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (, ), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist. He is considered the most popular, prolific and commercially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodbloc ...

. ''Female Ghost'' exemplifies the nineteenth century Japanese vogue for the supernatural and superstitious in the literary and visual arts. The print is part of the permanent collection of the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

, Toronto, Canada.

''Yūrei-zu''

This print belongs to a genre of Japanese painting and ''ukiyo-e'' known as '' yūrei-zu'' (幽霊図), ghost pictures, which peaked in popularity in the mid-nineteenth century. Literally 'faint (幽- yū) spirit (霊- rei),' ''

yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western model of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (''yū''), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (''rei''), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include , meaning ruined or depart ...

'' is just one of several Japanese words used to refer to spirits. Other terms include: ''obake'' (お化け), ''yōkai'' (妖怪), ''bōrei'' (亡霊), ''shiryō/ shirei'' (死霊), ''yūki'' (幽鬼), ''yōma'' (妖魔), ''yūkai'' (幽怪), ''rei'' (霊), ''bakemono'' (化け物), ''konpaku'' (魂魄), ''henge'' (変化), ''onryō'' (怨霊) and ''yūreijinkō'' (幽霊人口). There is a long tradition of belief in the supernatural in Japan which relates to various influences, including such imported sources as

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

and Chinese folklore. The most notable influence, however, is

Shintō Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists ...

, a native animistic religion which presupposes that the physical world is inhabited by eight million omnipresent spirit beings. Kunisada title

''Yūrei-zu'' such as this one represent the conflation of two prevailing trends in the nineteenth century Japanese literary and visual arts: depictions of the female form, and depictions of macabre or supernatural themes. During this period, ghosts— particularly the female variety— commonly figured in folktales, as well as theatre. Vengeful spirits returning to punish their wrong-doers were a staple of ''

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

'', '' bunraku'' and ''nō'' dramas, and proved popular with audiences. Wishing to tap into this market for the macabre, painters and woodblock artists began to create images of ghosts, as well as of ''kabuki'' actors in the roles of ghost characters.

''Yakusha-e''

Kunisada entered Utagawa Toyokuni's studio from a young age, and was therefore granted access to training from the finest masters of the age, as well as valuable connections to publishers, poets' associations, theatres and actors He began creating ''yakusha-e'' (actor images) in 1808, and this genre was to become the mainstay of his fame and fortune. So esteemed and prolific was he in this area, that he earned the epithet "Kunisada, the Portraitist of Actors (''yakusha-e no Kunisada'')." The Tempō Reforms of 1842, which had banned depictions of geisha, ''oiran'' courtesans and ''kabuki'' actors, began to be gradually repealed from the late 1840s, which left Kunisada free to return to his favourite medium.

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

Born in 1786 in the Honjō district of Edo, Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) was an apprentice of

Toyokuni I Utagawa Toyokuni ( ja, 歌川豊国; 1769 in Edo – 24 February 1825 in Edo), also often referred to as Toyokuni I, to distinguish him from the members of his school who took over his ''gō'' (art-name) after he died, was a great mas ...

, whom he later succeeded as Toyokuni III (三代歌川豊国). Although he debuted as a book illustrator in 1807 with illustrations for the series of beauties "Twelve Hours of the Courtesans" (''Keisei jūnitoki''), his production really took off from 1809. He founded his own studio in the early 1810s, and demand for his illustrations soon outstripped that for his master's. Not only was he respected for his artistic talent, he was also admired for his "convivial and balanced demeanor, and

he fact that He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

he delivered his commissions on time." Kunisada has been described as "without a doubt... was the most prolific and successful print artist of all time." Until the time of his death in 1865, he was incredibly prodigious, creating between 35 and 40 thousand designs for individual ukiyo-e prints. He produced images from diverse genres, including ''kabuki-e'' (pictures of kabuki actors), ''bijin-ga'' (pictures of beautiful women), ''yūrei-zu'' (ghost pictures), ''sumō-e'' (sumo wrestler pictures), ''

shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word ''shunga'' ...

'' (erotica) and ''musha-e'' (warrior prints). Kunisada signature

According to modern critics, Kunisada was "a trendsetter... in tune with the tastes of urban society." He is credited with infusing ''ukiyo-e'' with a sense of realism, particularly in his representations of female subjects. Compared with the females idealized in prints by Utamaro, his women are shorter limbed, with shorter and rounder physiques. They are often posed with "slightly bent backs and knees, giving them a hunched up, stumpy look." Like the female spirit in this print, they generally have longer faces with strong jaws giving an impression of "greater self-possession, if not outright aggressiveness." The print dates to 1852 and was therefore done when Kunisada was 66, before his work declined into what has been described as "gaudy and ostentatious" use of colour. Critics tend to agree that Kunisada's later works suffered in quality "because of over-production and lowering of artistic standards."

''Female Ghost''

The subject in this print corresponds to the typical depiction of female ghosts in Edo art: "a fragile form with long, flowing hair... dressed in pale or white clothing, the body below the waist tapered into nothingness." The central area is dominated by the figure of a female spirit with extremely long, wildly flowing black hair, crowned by a pale blue and white decoration. Unlike in many other ''yūrei-zu'', the ghost in this print is not disfigured or particularly ghoulish. She wears a long, pale blue

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

with the long sleeves ('' furisode'' - 振袖) common to the kimono of single women and female ghosts. Underneath are two inner robes, one solid red, and the other with a pale blue and white geometric design. Her kimono is fastened with a large dark blue ''obi'' tied in a disheveled bow at the front. Her kimono is closed left over right, as it would be worn by a living woman. The ghost floats, footless and with arms bent up at the elbows as is customary for ghost images of the period, in flames above a grassy field. Her head is framed by pine boughs. She stares off to the right, her gaze following her outstretched right arm. Covering the palm of her right hand is a blue cloth on top of which rests a rolled up '' kakemono'' or ''makimono'' scroll. In her left hand she grasps a red cloth—possibly a ''

furoshiki are traditional Japanese wrapping cloths traditionally used to wrap and/or to transport goods. Consideration is placed on the aesthetics of , which may feature hemmed edges, thicker and more expensive materials, and hand-painted designs; h ...

''—which is tied up as a round, flat parcel. Peaking out over her right shoulder is the brown feathered fletching of a single arrow. The image dates to 1852, the most productive year of Kunisada's career, during which he produced almost one thousand compositions. The image depicts a scene from a ''kabuki'' play entitled ''Otogi banashi Hakata no imaori'' (御伽譚博多新織), which was staged at Edo's

Nakamura-za was one of the three main ''kabuki'' theatres of Edo alongside the Morita-za and Ichimura-za. History It was founded in 1624 by Nakamura Kanzaburō 1st. The Nakamura-za relocated to the new capital Tokyo in 1868 and reopened under Nakamura ...

theatre in 1852. The image takes its original title from the character represented: ''Yaeki hime no rei'' (八重機姫の霊 - the ghost of Princess Yaeki). Although not named on the print, the character was played by actor Onoe Baikō (尾上梅幸). Although it is displayed in isolation in the ROM, the print is actually the centre image from a triptych capturing different characters from the play. The image on the left—to which her outstretched right arm appears to be reaching—is of Akamatsu Shigetamaru (赤松重太丸) as played by actor Ichikawa Kodanji (市川小団次). In the triptych's right position, is another character from the play named Shichi hirō (七?四郎). The image belongs to a series of over twenty images depicting scenes from the play, including another of the Yaeki hime no rei character.

Print details

* Size: ''ōban'' * Format: ''tate-e'' * Title: ''Yaeki hime no rei'' (八重機姫の霊); labelled ''Female Ghost'' by ROM * Subject: Yaeki hime no rei (Ghost of Princess Yaeki) character from the ''kabuki'' play Otogibanashi Hakata no imaori * Signature: Toyokuni ga (豊国画); in red oval ''toshidama-in'' cartouche, lower right corner * Publisher: Yamamoto-ya Heikichi, Eikyūdō; dark blue ''hanmoto'' mark in bottom left corner * Censor seals: 2 ''nanushi'' seals reading top to bottom Murata (村田) & Kinugasa (衣笠) indicating Murata Heiemon & Kinugasa Fusajiro * Date seal: rat 6, i.e. 6th month of 1852;Lane 1978, 213 oval in lower left corner, below censor seals * Genre: ''Yūrei-zu'', ''yakusha-e'' * Provenance: donated to the ROM by linguist and librarian Leonard Wertheimer (1914-1998)

Notes

{{reflist

References

* Bell, David. ''Ukiyo-e Explained''. Kent, U.K.: Global Oriental, 2004. * Calza, Gian Carlo. ''Ukiyo-e''. New York: Phaidon Press Ltd., 2003. * Chiappa, J. Noel. "Nanushi Censor Seals." Accessed July 18, 2013. http://mercury.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/prints/nanushi.html * Foster, Michael Dylan. ''Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai''. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2009. * Harris, Frederick. ''Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print''. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2010. * Hillier, J. ''Japanese Colour Prints''. New York: Phaidon Press, 1991. * Iwasaka, Michiko and Barre Toelken. ''Ghosts and the Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends''. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1994. * Jesse, Bernd. "The Golden Age of the Utagawa School: Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Kuniyoshi." In ''Samurai Stars of the Stage and Beautiful Women: Kunisada and Kuniyoshi Masters of the Color Woodblock Print'', edited by Stiftung Museum Kunstpalat, Gunda Luyken and Beat Wismer, 93–101. Düsseldorf: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2012. * Lane, Richard. ''Images from the Floating World: The Japanese Print''. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1978. * Marks, Andreas. ''Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks 1680-1900''. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2010. * Munsterberg, Hugo. ''The Japanese Print: A Historical Guide''. New York: Weatherhill, 1998. * Ross, Catrien. ''Japanese Ghost Stories: Spirits, Hauntings and Paranormal Phenomena''. Tokyo: Tuttle, 1996. * Rubin, Norman A. ''Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in Japanese Lore''. Asianart.com. June 26, 2000. Accessed July 12, 2013. http://www.asianart.com/articles/rubin/

External sources

* http://www.rom.on.ca/en/exhibitions-galleries/galleries/world-cultures/prince-takamado-gallery-japan Webpage for the ROM's Price Takamado Gallery * http://www.kunisada.de/ The Utagawa Kunisada Project Vast repository of information about Kunisada's works * https://web.archive.org/web/20150430031233/http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-1.php Images of prints from Kunisada's 1852 ''Otogi banashi Hakata no Imaori'' series Works by Utagawa Kunisada Collections of the Royal Ontario Museum Japanese ghosts