Object Details
- Label
- Like foxes and badgers, cats possessing supernatural powers are relatively common in Japanese folktales and legends. Kuniyoshi's print depicts the warrior Kamada Matahachi killing a monstrous cat in the mountains of Seishv (present-day Ise). At the time of this print's publication around 1840, tales of cat sorcery were in vogue. Takizawa Bakin's lively narrative, The Story of the Eight Dogs of the Satomi Clan (Nanso Satomi hakkenden), published serially between 1814 and 1847, includes an episode in which a hero vanquishes a huge cat witch. Kuniyoshi was fond of cats, which often appear in his observant, sympathetic, and humorous prints, and at times in anthropomorphic guises as courtesans or actors.
- Collection
- National Museum of Asian Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Masters of Mercy: Buddha's Amazing Disciples (March 10 to July 8, 2012)
- Tales and Legends in Japanese Art (June 21, 2003 to January 4, 2004)
- Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection (September 15, 2002 to January 9, 2003)
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Artist
- Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798-1861)
- Publisher
- Tsutaya Kichizo (Koeido) 蔦屋吉蔵
- Date
- ca. 1840
- Period
- Edo period
- Credit Line
- The Anne van Biema Collection
- Medium
- Ink, color and embossing on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (overall): 38 x 26 cm (14 15/16 x 10 1/4 in)
- Type
