Object Details
- Label
- Minamoto Yorimitsu (948–1021) (also known as Raikō) had the reputation of the “demon slayer” of Kyoto, vanquishing the monsters that plagued the capital with his four loyal followers. One of these creatures was the tsuchigumo, or “earth spider,” who cast a spell over the group, confusing and incapacitating them. Only Raikō was able to summon the strength to strike the spider and shatter the illusion. The story is likely based on the historical Raikō’s battles with mountain bandits, who were also referred to as tsuchigumo, because they lived in caves like spiders.
- right: Nakamura Shikan IV as Sakata Kintoki and OnoeBaikō (Kakunosuke) as Usui Sadamitsu
- center: Sawamura Tanosuke III as Usugumo, Actually the Spirit of a Spider (Jitsu wa kumo no sei)
- left: Nakamura Chūtarō as Urabe no Suetake and Ichikawa Kuzō III as Watanabe no Tsuna
- Collection
- National Museum of Asian Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints (March 23 to October 6, 2024)
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Artist
- Utagawa Toyokuni IV 四代目歌川豊国 (1823-1880)
- Publisher
- Iseya Kanekichi 伊勢屋兼吉 (ca. 1837 – 1875)
- Date
- 1864, 10th month
- Period
- Edo period
- Credit Line
- The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection
- Medium
- Ink and color on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (610a (right)): 35.8 × 24.7 cm (14 1/8 × 9 3/4 in)
- H x W (610b (center)): 35.9 × 24.7 cm (14 1/8 × 9 3/4 in)
- H x W (610c (left)): 35.9 × 24.7 cm (14 1/8 × 9 3/4 in)
- Type
