Katsukawa Shunshō (勝川春章) (artist 1726 – 1792)

Watanabe no Tsuna [渡邉綱] about to cut off the arm of the demon Ibaraki at the Rasho Gate (Rashomon)

Print

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Date:1780s
Dimensions:4.5 in x 26 in (Overall dimensions) Medium:Japanese woodblock print
Inscription:Unsigned
Links Description:John Stevenson recounts on page 30 the tale of Ibaraki in his book Yoshitoshi's Thirty-Six Ghosts: "Late one evening in the year 976, Watanabe no Tsuna was discussing with his friend Hojo whether it was possible for any demons still to be alive in Japan after the fierce was waged on them by their master, Yorimitsu. Hojo claimed that one demon, named Ibaraki, still lurked at Rasho Gate (the Rashomon immortalized in film by Kurosawa), then a rendezvous for the underworld of Kyoto. He challenged Watanabe to stay at the gate overnight. Watanabe accepted and left to begin his vigil. At around two in the morning he was beginning to doze, when he felt a powerful tug on his helmet. He slashed wildly backwards with his sword. There was a shriek, and Watanabe discovered he had cut off Ibaraki's huge hairy arm and clawed hand."

"Watanabe wondered what to do with the arm. He consulted a Shinto priest the next morning, who advised him to put it in a box and perform rites over it. The priest insisted that no one else be allowed to see the arm. A few days later Watanabe's old aunt, Mashiba, appeared as he was performing the rites, having travelled from her distant home to visit him. When Watanabe explained what he was doing, Mashiba asked to see the curiosity. Watanabe was reluctant, but eventually opened up the box to please his revered relative. The frail, gentle old lady was Ibaraki in disguise: she grabbed the arm and flew off with it."

Later Stevenson noted apropos of Yoshitoshi's print of Ibaraki flying off with her arm, from 1889: "The story is taken from the Noh play Ibaraki, from which a Kabuki play of the same name was adapted in 1883."

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There is a curious element to this print. The sign board has the characters 金札 (kinsatsu) on it. 札 can be translated as 'placard'. However, there are two copies of vertical diptychs by Yoshitoshi in Lyon Collection, #s 1351 and 1380, which show the same sign board, but with different characters on them - 禁札.

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Formerly attributed to Koryūsai and Kiyomasu.

Illustrated in black and white in The Japanese Pillar Print by Jacob Pins, Roger G. Sawers Publishing, 1982, number 555, page 221.
Related entities Yūrei-zu (幽霊図 - ghosts demons monsters and spirits) (genre)
Kakemono-e - 掛物絵 (genre)
Watanabe no Tsuna (渡邉綱) (role)

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