Art Institute of Chicago

Gamo Sadahide's Servant, Toki Motosada, Hurling a Demon King to the Ground at Mount Inahana, from the series "New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts (Shinkei sanjuroku kaisen)"

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Date: 1890
Medium: Color woodblock print
Culture: Japan
Department: Arts of Asia
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago

A samurai in a blue robe and full armor battles a large demon with red skin whom he has managed to pin to the ground, while a smiling Buddha statue looks on with approval. This print apparently illustrates an obscure legend, according to which the warrior had previously learned of strange happenings at a temple in Kai Province, where he had set up camp for the night. When he went to investigate, he encountered a group of spirits and goblins, the largest of which was in the form of a temple guardian, or niō. Once the large creature was defeated, the other apparitions, including dancing skeletons and moths, disappeared.

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