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{{Contains Japanese text|image=}}
{{Short description|Genre of Japanese art}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
[[File:Suushi Yurei.jpg|thumb|''Yūrei'' by Sawaki Sūshi (1737)]]
[[File:Suushi Yurei.jpg|thumb|''Yūrei'' by Sawaki Sūshi (1737)]]
''Yūrei-zu'' (幽霊ゆうれい図ず) are a genre of Japanese art consisting of painted or woodblock print images of ghosts, demons and other supernatural beings. They are considered to be a sub-genre of ''fūzokuga'', "pictures of manners and customs."<ref>Schaap 1998, 17</ref> These types of art works reached the peak of their popularity in Japan in the mid- to late 19th century.<ref name="Addis">Addis 1985, 178</ref>
'''''Yūrei-zu''''' (幽霊ゆうれい図ず) are a genre of Japanese art consisting of painted or woodblock print images of ghosts, demons and other supernatural beings. They are considered to be a subgenre of ''fūzokuga'', "pictures of manners and customs."<ref name="Schaap 1998, 17">Schaap 1998, 17</ref> These types of art works reached the peak of their popularity in Japan in the mid- to late 19th century.<ref name="Addis">Addis 1985, 178</ref>


==''Yūrei''==
==''Yūrei''==
Literally translatable as ‘faint (''yū'' - 幽かそけ) spirit (''rei'' - 霊れい),’ [[yūrei|''yūrei'']] is just one of several Japanese words used to refer to spirit beings. Other terms include: [[obake|''obake'']] (お化ばけ), [[yōkai|''yōkai'']] (妖怪ようかい), ''bōrei'' (亡霊ぼうれい), and [[Shiryō|''shiryō'']] (死霊しりょう). There is a long tradition of belief in the supernatural in Japan stemming from a variety of influences. Imported sources include [[Buddhism]], [[Taoism]] and [[List of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore|Chinese folklore]]. The most notable influence, however, is [[Shinto|Shintō]], a native Japanese [[animism|animistic religion]] which presupposes that our physical world is inhabited by eight million omnipresent spirits.<ref name="Rubin">Rubin 2000</ref>
Literally translatable as ‘faint (''yū'' - 幽かそけ) spirit (''rei'' - 霊れい),’ ''[[yūrei]]'' is just one of several Japanese words used to refer to spirit beings. Other terms include: ''[[obake]]'' (お化ばけ), ''[[yōkai]]'' (妖怪ようかい), ''bōrei'' (亡霊ぼうれい), and ''[[shiryō]]'' (死霊しりょう). There is a long tradition of belief in the supernatural in Japan stemming from a variety of influences. Imported sources include [[Buddhism]], [[Taoism]] and [[List of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore|Chinese folklore]]. The most notable influence, however, is [[Shinto|Shintō]], a native Japanese [[animism|animistic religion]] which presupposes that our physical world is inhabited by eight million omnipresent spirits.<ref name="Rubin">Rubin 2000</ref>


Japanese ghosts are essentially spirits "on leave" from hell in order to complete an outstanding mission.<ref>Richie 1983, 7</ref> The souls (''reikon'' - 霊魂れいこん) of those who die violently, do not receive proper funerary rites, or die while consumed by a desire for vengeance, do not pass peacefully to join the spirits of their ancestors in the afterlife. Instead, their ''reikon'' souls are transformed into ''ayurei'' souls, which can travel back to the physical world.<ref>Monstrous.com</ref> According to Buddhist belief, the journey from the world of the living (''konoyo'' - この世よ) to that of the dead (''anoyo'' - あの世よ) takes 49 days, and it is in this limbo-like phase that they can attend to unresolved issues.<ref>Iwasaki and Toelken 1994, 15</ref> There is a close relationship between the degree of an individual’s suffering in life and the severity of their actions in the afterlife.<ref>Jordan 1985, 27</ref> While their intentions are not always evil, the results of their actions are almost always damaging for the humans involved.<ref>Richie 1983, 7</ref> Belief held that a ghost could only receive release through the prayers of a living individual that his/her soul be allowed to pass into the underworld.<ref>Rubin 2000</ref>
Japanese ghosts are essentially spirits "on leave" from hell in order to complete an outstanding mission.<ref name="Richie 1983, 7">Richie 1983, 7</ref> The souls (''reikon'' - 霊魂れいこん) of those who die violently, do not receive proper funerary rites, or die while consumed by a desire for vengeance, do not pass peacefully to join the spirits of their ancestors in the afterlife. Instead, their ''reikon'' souls are transformed into ''ayurei'' souls, which can travel back to the physical world.<ref>Monstrous.com</ref> According to Buddhist belief, the journey from the world of the living (''konoyo'' - この世よ) to that of the dead (''anoyo'' - あの世よ) takes 49 days, and it is in this limbo-like phase that they can attend to unresolved issues.<ref>Iwasaki and Toelken 1994, 15</ref> There is a close relationship between the degree of an individual’s suffering in life and the severity of their actions in the afterlife.<ref>Jordan 1985, 27</ref> While their intentions are not always evil, the results of their actions are almost always damaging for the humans involved.<ref name="Richie 1983, 7"/> Belief held that a ghost could only receive release through the prayers of a living individual that his/her soul be allowed to pass into the underworld.<ref name="Rubin"/>


==Historical background ==
==Historical background==
[[File:Shimobe Fudesuke and the Ghost of the Woman in the Waterfall LACMA M.84.31.442.jpg|thumb|''Shimobe Fudesuke and the Ghost of the Woman in the Waterfall'' by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (c. 1865)]]
[[File:Shimobe Fudesuke and the Ghost of the Woman in the Waterfall LACMA M.84.31.442.jpg|thumb|''Shimobe Fudesuke and the Ghost of the Woman in the Waterfall'' by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (c. 1865)]]
Images of supernatural beings, as well as gory and grotesque scenes exist on Japanese painted scrolls going back to the medieval period. This tradition continued through the centuries, providing a foundation for ''yūrei-zu'', as well as for violent ''chimidoro-e'' (“bloody pictures” - 血ちみどろ絵え) and ''muzan-e'' (“cruel pictures” - 無残むざん絵え) which were to become popular in [[Edo period|Edo Japan]].<ref>Fensom 2012</ref> Although there are prior examples, ''yūrei-zu'' reached the pinnacle of their popularity in the mid- through late 19th century,<ref name="Addis" /> along with ghost themed [[kabuki|''kabuki'']] plays and ghost tales ([[kaidan|''kaidan'']] - 怪談かいだん).<ref>Schaap 1998, 17</ref> Scholars link the "persistent popularity"<ref>Bell 2004, 140</ref> of the occult to the "unsettled social conditions" prevailing during the late Edo,<ref name="Addis" /> which included the oppressive [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] regime, the beginnings of westernization, and a number of natural disasters.
Images of supernatural beings, as well as gory and grotesque scenes exist on Japanese painted scrolls going back to the medieval period. This tradition continued through the centuries, providing a foundation for ''yūrei-zu'', as well as for violent ''chimidoro-e'' (“bloody pictures” - 血ちみどろ絵え) and ''muzan-e'' (“cruel pictures” - 無残むざん絵え) which were to become popular in [[Edo period|Edo Japan]].<ref name="Fensom 2012">Fensom 2012</ref> Although there are prior examples, ''yūrei-zu'' reached the pinnacle of their popularity in the mid- through late 19th century,<ref name="Addis" /> along with ghost themed ''[[kabuki]]'' plays and ghost tales (''[[Kaidan (parapsychology)|kaidan]]'' - 怪談かいだん).<ref name="Schaap 1998, 17"/> Scholars link the "persistent popularity"<ref>Bell 2004, 140</ref> of the occult to the "unsettled social conditions" prevailing during the late Edo,<ref name="Addis" /> which included the oppressive [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] regime, the beginnings of westernization, and a number of natural disasters.<ref>See Addis 1985, 178; Rubin 2000; Harris 2010, 156; Schaap 1998, 17</ref><ref>In addition to floods and earthquakes, Japan was blighted by a series of droughts which led to twenty periods of famine between 1675 and 1837 (Dolan and Worden 1994)</ref>
<ref>See Addis 1985, 178; Rubin 2000; Harris 2010, 156; Schaap 1998, 17</ref><ref>In addition to floods and earthquakes, Japan was blighted by a series of droughts which led to twenty periods of famine between 1675 and 1837 (Dolan and Worden 1994)</ref>


==''Yūrei-zu'' and theatre==
==''Yūrei-zu'' and theatre==
[[File:Funazu - Yoshitoshi ryakuga - Walters 95350.jpg|thumb| ''Yoshitoshi ryakuga'' by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1882)]]
[[File:Funazu - Yoshitoshi ryakuga - Walters 95350.jpg|thumb|''Yoshitoshi ryakuga'' by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1882)]]
Japan has long had a vibrant folkloric tradition of ghost stories, and in the early eighteenth century these began to be dramatized for the [[Noh|''nō'']] stage and [[bunraku|''bunraku'']] puppet theatre.<ref>Rubin 2000</ref> As ''kabuki'' began to flourish throughout the later 17oos, so too did the number of dramas based on ghost stories, particularly those involving vengeful female ghosts returning to punish their wrong-doers.<ref>Rubin 2000</ref> ''Kabuki'', like [[ukiyo-e|''ukiyo-e'']], was a populist art form, which aimed to satisfy the dramatic tastes of a “proletarian clientele”: the rising working and middle classes in [[Edo]] (present-day Tokyo).<ref>Addis 1985, 179</ref> ''Kabuki'' and ''ukiyo-e'' shared a close kinship, as woodblock artists attempted to tap into “the public’s ever-increasing appetite for tales of the bizarre and thrilling,” and share the ''kabuki'' audience demographic.<ref>Schaap 1998, 17</ref> As Sarah Fensom notes, "that prints of the macabre, the supernatural and the grotesque were so frequently designed and distributed is for the most part a greater reflection of 19th century Japanese tastes than of the agenda of the artists." <ref>2013</ref>Artists produced images of ghosts as well as of actors in ghost roles, effecting a conflation of three prevailing trends in ''ukiyo-e'' of the period: depictions of the female form ([[Bijinga|''bijin-ga'']]), depictions of supernatural or macabre themes, and depictions of celebrated actors (''kabuki-e'' or ''shibai-e'').
Japan has long had a vibrant folkloric tradition of ghost stories, and in the early eighteenth century these began to be dramatized for the [[Noh|''nō'']] stage and ''[[bunraku]]'' puppet theatre.<ref name="Rubin"/> As ''kabuki'' began to flourish throughout the later 1700s, so too did the number of dramas based on ghost stories, particularly those involving vengeful female ghosts returning to punish their wrong-doers.<ref name="Rubin"/> ''Kabuki'', like ''[[ukiyo-e]]'', was a populist art form, which aimed to satisfy the dramatic tastes of a “proletarian clientele”: the rising working and middle classes in [[Edo]] (present-day Tokyo).<ref>Addis 1985, 179</ref> ''Kabuki'' and ''ukiyo-e'' shared a close kinship, as woodblock artists attempted to tap into “the public’s ever-increasing appetite for tales of the bizarre and thrilling,” and share the ''kabuki'' audience demographic.<ref name="Schaap 1998, 17"/> As Sarah Fensom notes, "that prints of the macabre, the supernatural and the grotesque were so frequently designed and distributed is for the most part a greater reflection of 19th century Japanese tastes than of the agenda of the artists."<ref>2013</ref> Artists produced images of ghosts as well as of actors in ghost roles, effecting a conflation of three prevailing trends in ''ukiyo-e'' of the period: depictions of the female form ([[Bijinga|''bijin-ga'']]), depictions of supernatural or macabre themes, and depictions of celebrated actors (''kabuki-e'' or ''shibai-e'').


==Censorship==
==Censorship==
In an attempt to return Japan to its feudal, agrarian roots, the Tokugawa regime in 1842 instituted the [[Tenpō Reforms|Tempō Reforms]] (''Tempō no kaikaku'' - 天保てんぽうの改革かいかく), a collection of laws governing many aspects of everyday life. In addition to the economy, the military, agriculture and religion, the Reforms reached into the world of art.<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica, ''Tempō Reforms''</ref> The intent of the Reforms was essentially to valorize frugality and loyalty,<ref>The Fitzwilliam Museum</ref> thus ostentatious or morally dubious images such as depictions of ''geisha'', [[oiran|''oiran'']] courtesans and ''kabuki'' actors were banned.<ref>Harris 2010, 156</ref> According to an 1842 decree aimed at print publishers: “To make woodblock prints of Kabuki actors, courtesans and geisha is detrimental to public morals. Henceforth the publication of new works [of this kind] as well as the sale of previously procured stocks is strictly forbidden. In future you are to select designs that are based on loyalty and filial piety and which serve to educate women and children, and you must insure that they are not luxurious.”<ref>The Fitzwilliam Museum</ref>
In an attempt to return Japan to its feudal, agrarian roots, the Tokugawa regime in 1842 instituted the [[Tenpō Reforms|Tempō Reforms]] (''Tempō no kaikaku'' - 天保てんぽうの改革かいかく), a collection of laws governing many aspects of everyday life. In addition to the economy, the military, agriculture and religion, the Reforms reached into the world of art.<ref name="ReferenceA">Encyclopædia Britannica, ''Tempō Reforms''</ref> The intent of the Reforms was essentially to valorize frugality and loyalty,<ref name="The Fitzwilliam Museum">The Fitzwilliam Museum</ref> thus ostentatious or morally dubious images such as depictions of ''geisha'', ''[[oiran]]'' courtesans and ''kabuki'' actors were banned.<ref name="Harris"/> According to an 1842 decree aimed at print publishers: “To make woodblock prints of Kabuki actors, courtesans and geisha is detrimental to public morals. Henceforth the publication of new works [of this kind] as well as the sale of previously procured stocks is strictly forbidden. In future you are to select designs that are based on loyalty and filial piety and which serve to educate women and children, and you must insure that they are not luxurious.”<ref name="The Fitzwilliam Museum"/>


Given this climate of censorship, some artists used the ''yūrei-zu'' genre "to symbolically and humorously disguise … criticism of the social and political maladies of the day by having fantastic creatures appear as substitutes for real people, especially the ruling elite."<ref name="Harris">Harris 2010, 156</ref> Such critiques led the government to subsequently ban both ''yūrei-zu'' and ghost plays.<ref name="Rubin" /> The Tempō Reforms were ultimately unsuccessful,<ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica, ''Tempō Reforms''</ref> and the strict regulation of art works was no longer enforced after 1845, once the shogunal advisor who had initiated the Reforms left the government.<ref>Jesse 2012, 95</ref> As long as the rules remained nominally in effect, some artists invoked clever word- and picture-play to circumvent censorship.<ref>The Fitzwilliam Museum</ref>
Given this climate of censorship, some artists used the ''yūrei-zu'' genre "to symbolically and humorously disguise … criticism of the social and political maladies of the day by having fantastic creatures appear as substitutes for real people, especially the ruling elite."<ref name="Harris">Harris 2010, 156</ref> Such critiques led the government to subsequently ban both ''yūrei-zu'' and ghost plays.<ref name="Rubin" /> The Tempō Reforms were ultimately unsuccessful,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and the strict regulation of art works was no longer enforced after 1845, once the shogunal advisor who had initiated the Reforms left the government.<ref>Jesse 2012, 95</ref> As long as the rules remained nominally in effect, some artists invoked clever word- and picture-play to circumvent censorship.<ref name="The Fitzwilliam Museum"/>


==''Yūrei-zu'' physical characteristics==
==''Yūrei-zu'' physical characteristics==
[[File:Hokusai Kohada Koheiji.jpg|thumb|''Kohada Koheiji'' by Hokusai (date unknown)]]
[[File:Hokusai Kohada Koheiji.jpg|thumb|''Kohada Koheiji'' by Hokusai (1831-1832)]]
The ghosts featured in Edo period ''ukiyo-e'' come in various forms. They can appear as animal creatures both real and imagined, such as foxes, cats, dragons and demons. They can also be the discontent spirits of male warriors.<ref>Fensom 2013</ref> Most of the ghosts featured, however, tend to be female, "specifically," as [[Donald Richie]] notes, "dissatisfied females."<ref>1983, 6</ref>
The ghosts featured in Edo period ''ukiyo-e'' come in various forms. They can appear as animal creatures both real and imagined, such as foxes, cats, dragons and demons. They can also be the discontent spirits of male warriors.<ref>Fensom 2013</ref> Most of the ghosts featured, however, tend to be female, "specifically," as [[Donald Richie]] notes, "dissatisfied females."<ref>1983, 6</ref>


The subjects in ''yūrei-zu'' typically correspond to a very specific set of physical characteristics:<ref>Jordan 1985, 25</ref><ref>Davisson 2012</ref>
The subjects in ''yūrei-zu'' typically correspond to a very specific set of physical characteristics:<ref>Jordan 1985, 25</ref><ref>Davisson 2012</ref>
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* white or pale-coloured kimono akin to the plain white ''katabira'' (帷子かたびら) or ''kyōkatabira'' (経帷子きょうかたびら) funerary kimono
* white or pale-coloured kimono akin to the plain white ''katabira'' (帷子かたびら) or ''kyōkatabira'' (経帷子きょうかたびら) funerary kimono
* long, flowing sleeves
* long, flowing sleeves
* some are depicted with a triangular [[Hitaikakushi|''hitaikakushi'']] (額がく隠かくれ) forehead cloth also associated with [[Japanese funeral|Japanese funerary tradition]]
* some are depicted with a triangular forehead cloth also associated with [[Japanese funeral|Japanese funerary tradition]]
* a thin, fragile frame
* a thin, fragile frame
* outstretched arms, sometimes waving or beckoning
* outstretched arms, sometimes waving or beckoning
* hands hanging limply from the wrists
* hands hanging limply from the wrists
* no body below the waist
* no body below the waist
* often accompanied by [[Hitodama|''hitodama'']] (人魂ひとだま), green, blue or purple floating flames
* often accompanied by ''[[hitodama]]'' (人魂ひとだま), green, blue or purple floating flames
* transparent or semi-transparent
* transparent or semi-transparent


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==Notable Edo examples==
==Notable Edo examples==
[[File:Oyuki.jpg|thumb|''Ghost of Oyuki'' by Maruyama Ōkyo (1750-1780)]]
[[File:Oyuki.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|''Ghost of Oyuki'' by Maruyama Ōkyo (1750–1780)]]

===''The Ghost of Oyuki''===
===''The Ghost of Oyuki''===
The earliest ''yūrei-zu'' is considered to be by [[Maruyama Ōkyo]] (円山まるやま 応挙おうきょ), founder of the Maruyama school and one of the most significant artists of the 18th century. <ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica, ''Maruyama Ōkyo''</ref> [[The Ghost of Oyuki|''The Ghost of Oyuki'']] (''Oyuki no maboroshi'' - お雪ゆきの幻まぼろし) is a silk scroll painting dating to the second half of the 18th century <ref>Jordan suggests the painting was produced when Maruyama was “in his mid-forties” (1985, 33n), which would make it c. 1778; however, Stevenson states that it was completed for the shogun in or around 1760 (1983, 10), and yet another source believes it to date from 1750 (Chin Music Press).</ref> In Maruyama’s naturalistic style,<ref>Apocryphally, Maruyama once painted such a realistic ghost image that it came to life and terrified him. The incident is immortalized in a painting by [[Taiso Yoshitoshi]] (1839-1892) entitled 'Yoshitoshi Ryakuga'. (Art History Reference)</ref> it depicts a faintly coloured female ghost whose body tapers into transparency. It has been described as an “image of haunting beauty.”<ref name="Jordan_a">Jordan 1985, 26</ref> According to a scroll box inscription by a one-time owner, the subject of the painting is Maruyama’s lover,<ref>Stevenson suggests that in the absence of the subject, Maruyama’s dying aunt acted as his model (1983, 10)</ref> a [[geisha|''geisha'']] who died young.<ref>Jordan 1985, 26</ref> Her ghost is said to have visited the artist in a dream and inspired him to paint her portrait.<ref>Jordan 1985, 26</ref>
The earliest ''yūrei-zu'' is considered to be by [[Maruyama Ōkyo]] (円山まるやま 応挙おうきょ), founder of the Maruyama school and one of the most significant artists of the 18th century.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, ''Maruyama Ōkyo''</ref> ''[[The Ghost of Oyuki]]'' (''Oyuki no maboroshi'' - お雪ゆきの幻まぼろし) is a silk scroll painting dating to the second half of the 18th century <ref>Jordan suggests the painting was produced when Maruyama was “in his mid-forties” (1985, 33n), which would make it c. 1778; however, Stevenson states that it was completed for the shogun in or around 1760 (1983, 10), and yet another source believes it to date from 1750 (Chin Music Press).</ref> In Maruyama’s naturalistic style,<ref>Apocryphally, Maruyama once painted such a realistic ghost image that it came to life and terrified him. The incident is immortalized in a painting by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi|Taiso Yoshitoshi]] (1839-1892) entitled 'Yoshitoshi Ryakuga'. (Art History Reference)</ref> it depicts a faintly coloured female ghost whose body tapers into transparency. It has been described as an “image of haunting beauty.”<ref name="Jordan_a">Jordan 1985, 26</ref> According to a scroll box inscription by a one-time owner, the subject of the painting is Maruyama’s lover,<ref>Stevenson suggests that in the absence of the subject, Maruyama’s dying aunt acted as his model (1983, 10)</ref> a ''[[geisha]]'' who died young.<ref name="Jordan_a"/> Her ghost is said to have visited the artist in a dream and inspired him to paint her portrait.<ref name="Jordan_a"/>


===Other Edo artists===
===Other Edo artists===
All of the pre-eminent ''ukiyo-e'' artists of the later Edo period produced ''yūrei-zu'', including [[Kunisada]], [[Hokusai]] <ref>See the 1831 series ''One Hundred [Ghost] Tales'' (''Hyaku monogatari'')</ref> and [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]], who “designed the largest number of prints portraying ghosts as well as other strange, unusual and fantastic creatures.” <ref name="Harris" />
All of the pre-eminent ''ukiyo-e'' artists of the later Edo period produced ''yūrei-zu'', including [[Kunisada]], [[Hokusai]]<ref>See the 1831 series ''One Hundred [Ghost] Tales'' (''Hyaku monogatari'')</ref> and [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]], who “designed the largest number of prints portraying ghosts as well as other strange, unusual and fantastic creatures.” <ref name="Harris" />


Another major producer of ''yūrei-zu'' was [[Yoshitoshi|Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]] who reputedly had personal encounters with ghosts in 1865 and 1880. In 1865 he produced the series ''One Hundred Ghost Stories of China and Japan'' (''Wakan hyaku monogatari''), his first series to feature ghosts. The original series, which was based on a popular game of the period involving ghost stories, included one hundred images; however, only twenty-six were published.<ref>Chiappa, J. Noel and Levine, Jason M. 2009</ref> His final print series, ''New Forms of 36 Ghosts'' (''Shinkei sanjūrokuten''), was "so freakishly popular," according to Sarah Fensom, "that the blocks from which it was printed wore out."<ref>Fensom 2012</ref>
Another major producer of ''yūrei-zu'' was [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]] who reputedly had personal encounters with ghosts in 1865 and 1880. In 1865 he produced the series ''One Hundred Ghost Stories of China and Japan'' (''Wakan hyaku monogatari''), his first series to feature ghosts. The original series, which was based on a popular game of the period involving ghost stories, included one hundred images; however, only twenty-six were published.<ref>Chiappa, J. Noel and Levine, Jason M. 2009</ref> His final print series, ''New Forms of 36 Ghosts'' (''Shinkei sanjūrokuten''), was "so freakishly popular," according to Sarah Fensom, "that the blocks from which it was printed wore out."<ref name="Fensom 2012"/>


==Contemporary examples==
==Contemporary examples==
[[File:Female Ghost.JPG|thumb|''Female Ghost'' by Kunisada (1852)]]
[[File:Female Ghost.JPG|thumb|upright|''Female Ghost'' by Kunisada (1852)]]
Although patently no longer as pervasive as during the late Edo period, ''yūrei-zu'' and contemporary variations continue to be produced by Japanese artists in various media. One prominent example is the [[nihonga|''nihonga'']] painter [[Fuyuko Matsui]] (b. 1974), whose ghostly images are described as “beautiful and eerie,”<ref>Japan Echo</ref> “dark [and] Gothic,” and “disturbing and mesmerizing.”<ref>Liddell</ref> Matsui has identified a goal of her works as imparting “a condition that maintains sanity while being close to madness.”<ref>Liddell</ref> Matsui’s colour on silk hanging scroll “Nyctalopia” (2005) is particularly reminiscent of classic ''yūrei-zu'' such as Maruyama’s “The Ghost of Oyuki.”<ref>See image at http://www.matsuifuyuko.com/works-e/index.html</ref>
Although patently no longer as pervasive as during the late Edo period, ''yūrei-zu'' and contemporary variations continue to be produced by Japanese artists in various media. One prominent example is the ''[[nihonga]]'' painter [[Fuyuko Matsui]] (b. 1974), whose ghostly images are described as “beautiful and eerie,”<ref>Japan Echo</ref> “dark [and] Gothic,” and “disturbing and mesmerizing.”<ref name="Liddell">Liddell</ref> Matsui has identified a goal of her works as imparting “a condition that maintains sanity while being close to madness.”<ref name="Liddell"/> Matsui’s colour on silk hanging scroll “Nyctalopia” (2005) is particularly reminiscent of classic ''yūrei-zu'' such as Maruyama’s “The Ghost of Oyuki.”<ref>See image at {{cite web|url=http://www.matsuifuyuko.com/works-e/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322110801/http://www.matsuifuyuko.com/works-e/index.html|archive-date=2018-03-22|title=Fuyuko Matsui Works|url-status=dead}}</ref>


Another artist whose works echo ''yūrei-zu'' is [[Hisashi Tenmyouya]] (b. 1966). Between 2004 and 2005, Tenmyouya completed a series of acrylic on wood paintings entitled ''New Version of Six Ghost Stories'' (新形しんがた六ろく怪かい撰せん). The six images are reworkings of famous Japanese ghost stories, such as [[Yotsuya Kaidan|''Tokaido Yotsuya'']] ''Ghost Story'' and ''Kohata Koheiji Ghost Story'', which were rendered in woodblocks by Edo artists.<ref>See images at http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tenmyoya/paintings/0_paintings.html</ref>
Another artist whose works echo ''yūrei-zu'' is [[Hisashi Tenmyouya]] (b. 1966). Between 2004 and 2005, Tenmyouya completed a series of acrylic on wood paintings entitled ''New Version of Six Ghost Stories'' (新形しんがた六ろく怪かい撰せん). The six images are reworkings of famous Japanese ghost stories, such as [[Yotsuya Kaidan|''Tokaido Yotsuya'']] ''Ghost Story'' and ''Kohata Koheiji Ghost Story'', which were rendered in woodblocks by Edo artists.<ref>See images at {{cite web|url=http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tenmyoya/paintings/0_paintings.html|title=Tenmyouya Hisashi Paintings|access-date=2023-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705085337/http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tenmyoya/paintings/0_paintings.html|archive-date=2015-07-05|url-status=dead}}</ref>


Also creating contemporary ''yūrei-zu'' in a traditional style is American-born, Japanese-resident artist Matthew Meyer. His ''Japanese Yōkai'' series is collected in his illustrated book ''The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons''. According to Meyer, the intention of his paintings is "to recreate the feeling of old Japanese woodblock prints while adding a contemporary illustrative touch."<ref>http://matthewmeyer.net/</ref>
Also creating contemporary ''yūrei-zu'' in a traditional style is American-born, Japanese-resident artist Matthew Meyer. His ''Japanese Yōkai'' series is collected in his illustrated book ''The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons''. According to Meyer, the intention of his paintings is "to recreate the feeling of old Japanese woodblock prints while adding a contemporary illustrative touch."<ref>{{cite web | title=Matthew Meyer | website=Matthew Meyer | url=https://matthewmeyer.net/ | access-date=2022-10-13}}</ref>


The influence of ''yūrei-zu'' is also evident in the [[manga]] of [[Shigeru Mizuki]] (b. 1922) and [[Hiroshi Shiibashi]] (b. 1980), both of whom are renowned for their works dealing with traditional Japanese aspects of the supernatural.
The influence of ''yūrei-zu'' is also evident in the [[manga]] of [[Shigeru Mizuki]] (b. 1922) and [[Hiroshi Shiibashi]] (b. 1980), both of whom are renowned for their works dealing with traditional Japanese aspects of the supernatural.
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==See also==
==See also==
* [[Edo period in popular culture]]
* [[Edo period in popular culture]]

* [[Satori (folklore)]]
* [[Satori (folklore)]]

* [[List of legendary creatures from Japan]]
* [[List of legendary creatures from Japan]]


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==References==
==References==
* Addis, Stephen. “Conclusion: The Supernatural in Japanese Art.” In ''Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural'', edited by Stephen Addis, 177-179. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1985.
* Addis, Stephen. “Conclusion: The Supernatural in Japanese Art.” In ''Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural'', edited by Stephen Addis, 177-179. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1985.
⚫
* Art History Reference. "Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795)." Accessed September 14, 2013. http://arthistoryreference.com/a1/54567.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907170925/http://arthistoryreference.com/a1/54567.htm |date=2014-09-07 }}

⚫
* Art History Reference. "Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795)." Accessed September 14, 2013. http://arthistoryreference.com/a1/54567.htm

* Bell, David. ''Ukiyo-e Explained''. Kent, UK: Global Oriental, 2004.
* Bell, David. ''Ukiyo-e Explained''. Kent, UK: Global Oriental, 2004.

* Chiappa, J. Noel and Levine, Jason M. "Yoshitoshi's 'One Hundred Ghost Stories of China and Japan(1865)." Yoshitoshi.net. 2009. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://www.yoshitoshi.net/series/100ghosts.html
* Chiappa, J. Noel and Levine, Jason M. "Yoshitoshi's 'One Hundred Ghost Stories of China and Japan(1865)." Yoshitoshi.net. 2009. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://www.yoshitoshi.net/series/100ghosts.html

* Chin Music Press. "The Ghost of Oyuki." Accessed September 13, 2013. http://store.chinmusicpress.com/product/the-ghost-of-oyuki-chapbook
* Chin Music Press. "The Ghost of Oyuki." Accessed September 13, 2013. http://store.chinmusicpress.com/product/the-ghost-of-oyuki-chapbook

* Davisson, Zack. "What is the White Kimono Japanese Ghosts Wear?" April 2012. Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai. Accessed September 2013. http://hyakumonogatari.com/2012/04/04/what-is-the-white-kimono-japanese-ghosts-wear/
* Davisson, Zack. "What is the White Kimono Japanese Ghosts Wear?" April 2012. Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai. Accessed September 2013. http://hyakumonogatari.com/2012/04/04/what-is-the-white-kimono-japanese-ghosts-wear/

* Dolan, Ronald E. and Worden, Robert L., editors. ''Japan: A Country Study.'' Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1994. Accessed September 16, 2013. http://countrystudies.us/japan/21.htm
* Dolan, Ronald E. and Worden, Robert L., editors. ''Japan: A Country Study.'' Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1994. Accessed September 16, 2013. http://countrystudies.us/japan/21.htm
⚫
* Encyclopædia Britannica. "Maruyama Ōkyo." Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2013. Accessed September 14, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/367211/Maruyama-Okyo

* Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Maruyama Ōkyo." Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. 2013. Accessed September 14, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/367211/Maruyama-Okyo
* Encyclopædia Britannica. "Tempō Reforms." Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2013. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/586929/Tempo-reforms

⚫
* Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Tempō Reforms." Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. 2013. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/586929/Tempo-reforms

* Fensom, Sarah E. “Lucid Dreams & Nightmares.” Art & Antiques Worldwide Media, LLC. October 2012. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://www.artandantiquesmag.com/2012/10/japanese-woodblock-prints/
* Fensom, Sarah E. “Lucid Dreams & Nightmares.” Art & Antiques Worldwide Media, LLC. October 2012. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://www.artandantiquesmag.com/2012/10/japanese-woodblock-prints/

* Harris, Frederick. ''Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print''. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2010.
* Harris, Frederick. ''Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print''. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2010.
⚫
* Iwasaki, Michiko and [[Barre Toelken]]. ''Ghosts and the Japanese Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends''. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1994.

⚫
* Japan Echo. "Beauty and the Ghosts: Young Painter Takes Japan's Art World by Storm." June 22, 2006. Web Japan. Accessed September 14, 2013. http://web-japan.org/trends/arts/art060622.html
⚫
* Iwasaki, Michiko and Barre Toelken. ''Ghosts and the Japanese Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends''. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1994.

⚫
* Japan Echo. "Beauty and the Ghosts: Young Painter Takes Japan's Art World by Storm." June 22, 2006. Web Japan. Accessed September 14, 2013. http://web-japan.org/trends/arts/art060622.html

* 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.
* 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.

* Jordan, Brenda. “Yūrei: Tales of Female Ghosts.” In ''Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural'', edited by Stephen Addis, 25-33. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1985.
* Jordan, Brenda. “Yūrei: Tales of Female Ghosts.” In ''Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural'', edited by Stephen Addis, 25-33. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1985.

* Liddell, C.B. “Nihonga to Nihonga: Young, Fresh and Traditional Artists.” ''Japan Times''. March 9, 2006. Accessed September 14, 2013. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2006/03/09/culture/young-fresh-and-traditional-japanese-artists/#.UjUVUNJJ6s0
* Liddell, C.B. “Nihonga to Nihonga: Young, Fresh and Traditional Artists.” ''Japan Times''. March 9, 2006. Accessed September 14, 2013. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2006/03/09/culture/young-fresh-and-traditional-japanese-artists/#.UjUVUNJJ6s0
⚫
* Meyer, Matthew. "Artwork: Japanese Yokai." Matthew Meyer. 2012. Accessed September 16, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131025232445/http://matthewmeyer.net/artwork/japanese-mythology/

⚫
* Meyer, Matthew. "Artwork: Japanese Yokai." Matthew Meyer. 2012. Accessed September 16, 2013. http://matthewmeyer.net/artwork/japanese-mythology/

* Monstrous.com. "Japanese Ghosts." 2011. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://ghosts.monstrous.com/japanese_ghosts/all_pages.htm
* Monstrous.com. "Japanese Ghosts." 2011. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://ghosts.monstrous.com/japanese_ghosts/all_pages.htm
* Richie, Donald. “The Japanese Ghost.” In ''Yoshitoshi’s Thirty-six Ghosts'', edited by John Stevenson, 6-9. New York: Blue Tiger, 1983.
* Richie, Donald. “The Japanese Ghost.” In ''Yoshitoshi’s Thirty-six Ghosts'', edited by John Stevenson, 6-9. New York: Blue Tiger, 1983.
⚫
* Rubin, Norman A. "Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in Japanese Lore." Asianart.com. Accessed Sept. 9, 2013. http://www.asianart.com/articles/rubin/

⚫
* Rubin, Norman A. "Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in Japanese Lore." Asianart.com. Accessed Sept. 9, 2013. http://www.asianart.com/articles/rubin/

* Stevenson, John. ''Yoshitoshi’s Thirty-six Ghosts''. New York: Blue Tiger, 1983.
* Stevenson, John. ''Yoshitoshi’s Thirty-six Ghosts''. New York: Blue Tiger, 1983.

* Schaap, Robert. ''Heroes and Ghosts: Japanese Prints by Kuniyoshi 1797-1861''. Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 1998.
* Schaap, Robert. ''Heroes and Ghosts: Japanese Prints by Kuniyoshi 1797-1861''. Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 1998.

* Tenmyouya, Hisashi. "天明てんめい屋や 尚なお [Tenmyouya Hisashi]." Accessed September 15, 2013. http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tenmyoya/biography/biography.html
* Tenmyouya, Hisashi. "天明てんめい屋や 尚なお [Tenmyouya Hisashi]." Accessed September 15, 2013. http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tenmyoya/biography/biography.html
* {{cite web|title=Introduction to Kunisada and Kabuki|publisher= Fitzwilliam Museum|access-date=2023-08-27|url=http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/japan/gallery/info%20kun.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907171224/http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/japan/gallery/info%20kun.htm|archive-date=2014-09-07|url-status=dead}}

* The Fitzwilliam Museum. "Luxury and Censorship." Fitzwilliam Museum Kunisada and Kabuki Web Site. Accessed September 17, 2013. http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/japan/gallery/info%20kun.htm


==External links==
==External links==
⚫
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnveMIhKnSA Interview with Mizuki Shigeru on Japan's ghosts]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Yurei-zu}}
⚫
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnveMIhKnSA - link to YouTube video of interview with Mizuki Shigeru on Japan's ghosts


[[Category:Japanese art]]
[[Category:Japanese art]]
[[Category:Japanese folklore]]
[[Category:Japanese folklore]]
[[Category:Japanese ghosts]]
[[Category:Japanese ghosts]]
[[Category:Japanese legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Japanese art terminology]]
[[Category:Arts in Japan]]
[[category:Japanese art terminology]]

Latest revision as of 16:48, 27 August 2023

Yūrei by Sawaki Sūshi (1737)

Yūrei-zu (幽霊ゆうれい図ず) are a genre of Japanese art consisting of painted or woodblock print images of ghosts, demons and other supernatural beings. They are considered to be a subgenre of fūzokuga, "pictures of manners and customs."[1] These types of art works reached the peak of their popularity in Japan in the mid- to late 19th century.[2]

Yūrei[edit]

Literally translatable as ‘faint (yū - 幽かそけ) spirit (rei - 霊れい),’ yūrei is just one of several Japanese words used to refer to spirit beings. Other terms include: obake (お化ばけ), yōkai (妖怪ようかい), bōrei (亡霊ぼうれい), and shiryō (死霊しりょう). There is a long tradition of belief in the supernatural in Japan stemming from a variety of influences. Imported sources include Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese folklore. The most notable influence, however, is Shintō, a native Japanese animistic religion which presupposes that our physical world is inhabited by eight million omnipresent spirits.[3]

Japanese ghosts are essentially spirits "on leave" from hell in order to complete an outstanding mission.[4] The souls (reikon - 霊魂れいこん) of those who die violently, do not receive proper funerary rites, or die while consumed by a desire for vengeance, do not pass peacefully to join the spirits of their ancestors in the afterlife. Instead, their reikon souls are transformed into ayurei souls, which can travel back to the physical world.[5] According to Buddhist belief, the journey from the world of the living (konoyo - この世よ) to that of the dead (anoyo - あの世よ) takes 49 days, and it is in this limbo-like phase that they can attend to unresolved issues.[6] There is a close relationship between the degree of an individual’s suffering in life and the severity of their actions in the afterlife.[7] While their intentions are not always evil, the results of their actions are almost always damaging for the humans involved.[4] Belief held that a ghost could only receive release through the prayers of a living individual that his/her soul be allowed to pass into the underworld.[3]

Historical background[edit]

Shimobe Fudesuke and the Ghost of the Woman in the Waterfall by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (c. 1865)

Images of supernatural beings, as well as gory and grotesque scenes exist on Japanese painted scrolls going back to the medieval period. This tradition continued through the centuries, providing a foundation for yūrei-zu, as well as for violent chimidoro-e (“bloody pictures” - 血ちみどろ絵え) and muzan-e (“cruel pictures” - 無残むざん絵え) which were to become popular in Edo Japan.[8] Although there are prior examples, yūrei-zu reached the pinnacle of their popularity in the mid- through late 19th century,[2] along with ghost themed kabuki plays and ghost tales (kaidan - 怪談かいだん).[1] Scholars link the "persistent popularity"[9] of the occult to the "unsettled social conditions" prevailing during the late Edo,[2] which included the oppressive Tokugawa regime, the beginnings of westernization, and a number of natural disasters.[10][11]

Yūrei-zu and theatre[edit]

Yoshitoshi ryakuga by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1882)

Japan has long had a vibrant folkloric tradition of ghost stories, and in the early eighteenth century these began to be dramatized for the nō stage and bunraku puppet theatre.[3] As kabuki began to flourish throughout the later 1700s, so too did the number of dramas based on ghost stories, particularly those involving vengeful female ghosts returning to punish their wrong-doers.[3] Kabuki, like ukiyo-e, was a populist art form, which aimed to satisfy the dramatic tastes of a “proletarian clientele”: the rising working and middle classes in Edo (present-day Tokyo).[12] Kabuki and ukiyo-e shared a close kinship, as woodblock artists attempted to tap into “the public’s ever-increasing appetite for tales of the bizarre and thrilling,” and share the kabuki audience demographic.[1] As Sarah Fensom notes, "that prints of the macabre, the supernatural and the grotesque were so frequently designed and distributed is for the most part a greater reflection of 19th century Japanese tastes than of the agenda of the artists."[13] Artists produced images of ghosts as well as of actors in ghost roles, effecting a conflation of three prevailing trends in ukiyo-e of the period: depictions of the female form (bijin-ga), depictions of supernatural or macabre themes, and depictions of celebrated actors (kabuki-e or shibai-e).

Censorship[edit]

In an attempt to return Japan to its feudal, agrarian roots, the Tokugawa regime in 1842 instituted the Tempō Reforms (Tempō no kaikaku - 天保てんぽうの改革かいかく), a collection of laws governing many aspects of everyday life. In addition to the economy, the military, agriculture and religion, the Reforms reached into the world of art.[14] The intent of the Reforms was essentially to valorize frugality and loyalty,[15] thus ostentatious or morally dubious images such as depictions of geisha, oiran courtesans and kabuki actors were banned.[16] According to an 1842 decree aimed at print publishers: “To make woodblock prints of Kabuki actors, courtesans and geisha is detrimental to public morals. Henceforth the publication of new works [of this kind] as well as the sale of previously procured stocks is strictly forbidden. In future you are to select designs that are based on loyalty and filial piety and which serve to educate women and children, and you must insure that they are not luxurious.”[15]

Given this climate of censorship, some artists used the yūrei-zu genre "to symbolically and humorously disguise … criticism of the social and political maladies of the day by having fantastic creatures appear as substitutes for real people, especially the ruling elite."[16] Such critiques led the government to subsequently ban both yūrei-zu and ghost plays.[3] The Tempō Reforms were ultimately unsuccessful,[14] and the strict regulation of art works was no longer enforced after 1845, once the shogunal advisor who had initiated the Reforms left the government.[17] As long as the rules remained nominally in effect, some artists invoked clever word- and picture-play to circumvent censorship.[15]

Yūrei-zu physical characteristics[edit]

Kohada Koheiji by Hokusai (1831-1832)

The ghosts featured in Edo period ukiyo-e come in various forms. They can appear as animal creatures both real and imagined, such as foxes, cats, dragons and demons. They can also be the discontent spirits of male warriors.[18] Most of the ghosts featured, however, tend to be female, "specifically," as Donald Richie notes, "dissatisfied females."[19]

The subjects in yūrei-zu typically correspond to a very specific set of physical characteristics:[20][21]

  • long, straight black hair, which is often unkempt
  • white or pale-coloured kimono akin to the plain white katabira (帷子かたびら) or kyōkatabira (経帷子きょうかたびら) funerary kimono
  • long, flowing sleeves
  • some are depicted with a triangular forehead cloth also associated with Japanese funerary tradition
  • a thin, fragile frame
  • outstretched arms, sometimes waving or beckoning
  • hands hanging limply from the wrists
  • no body below the waist
  • often accompanied by hitodama (人魂ひとだま), green, blue or purple floating flames
  • transparent or semi-transparent

By nature, they:[22]

  • are nocturnal
  • avoid running water
  • appear in true ghostly guise when reflected in a mirror or water surface

Notable Edo examples[edit]

Ghost of Oyuki by Maruyama Ōkyo (1750–1780)

The Ghost of Oyuki[edit]

The earliest yūrei-zu is considered to be by Maruyama Ōkyo (円山まるやま 応挙おうきょ), founder of the Maruyama school and one of the most significant artists of the 18th century.[23] The Ghost of Oyuki (Oyuki no maboroshi - お雪ゆきの幻まぼろし) is a silk scroll painting dating to the second half of the 18th century [24] In Maruyama’s naturalistic style,[25] it depicts a faintly coloured female ghost whose body tapers into transparency. It has been described as an “image of haunting beauty.”[26] According to a scroll box inscription by a one-time owner, the subject of the painting is Maruyama’s lover,[27] a geisha who died young.[26] Her ghost is said to have visited the artist in a dream and inspired him to paint her portrait.[26]

Other Edo artists[edit]

All of the pre-eminent ukiyo-e artists of the later Edo period produced yūrei-zu, including Kunisada, Hokusai[28] and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who “designed the largest number of prints portraying ghosts as well as other strange, unusual and fantastic creatures.” [16]

Another major producer of yūrei-zu was Tsukioka Yoshitoshi who reputedly had personal encounters with ghosts in 1865 and 1880. In 1865 he produced the series One Hundred Ghost Stories of China and Japan (Wakan hyaku monogatari), his first series to feature ghosts. The original series, which was based on a popular game of the period involving ghost stories, included one hundred images; however, only twenty-six were published.[29] His final print series, New Forms of 36 Ghosts (Shinkei sanjūrokuten), was "so freakishly popular," according to Sarah Fensom, "that the blocks from which it was printed wore out."[8]

Contemporary examples[edit]

Female Ghost by Kunisada (1852)

Although patently no longer as pervasive as during the late Edo period, yūrei-zu and contemporary variations continue to be produced by Japanese artists in various media. One prominent example is the nihonga painter Fuyuko Matsui (b. 1974), whose ghostly images are described as “beautiful and eerie,”[30] “dark [and] Gothic,” and “disturbing and mesmerizing.”[31] Matsui has identified a goal of her works as imparting “a condition that maintains sanity while being close to madness.”[31] Matsui’s colour on silk hanging scroll “Nyctalopia” (2005) is particularly reminiscent of classic yūrei-zu such as Maruyama’s “The Ghost of Oyuki.”[32]

Another artist whose works echo yūrei-zu is Hisashi Tenmyouya (b. 1966). Between 2004 and 2005, Tenmyouya completed a series of acrylic on wood paintings entitled New Version of Six Ghost Stories (新形しんがた六ろく怪かい撰せん). The six images are reworkings of famous Japanese ghost stories, such as Tokaido Yotsuya Ghost Story and Kohata Koheiji Ghost Story, which were rendered in woodblocks by Edo artists.[33]

Also creating contemporary yūrei-zu in a traditional style is American-born, Japanese-resident artist Matthew Meyer. His Japanese Yōkai series is collected in his illustrated book The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. According to Meyer, the intention of his paintings is "to recreate the feeling of old Japanese woodblock prints while adding a contemporary illustrative touch."[34]

The influence of yūrei-zu is also evident in the manga of Shigeru Mizuki (b. 1922) and Hiroshi Shiibashi (b. 1980), both of whom are renowned for their works dealing with traditional Japanese aspects of the supernatural.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Schaap 1998, 17
  2. ^ a b c Addis 1985, 178
  3. ^ a b c d e Rubin 2000
  4. ^ a b Richie 1983, 7
  5. ^ Monstrous.com
  6. ^ Iwasaki and Toelken 1994, 15
  7. ^ Jordan 1985, 27
  8. ^ a b Fensom 2012
  9. ^ Bell 2004, 140
  10. ^ See Addis 1985, 178; Rubin 2000; Harris 2010, 156; Schaap 1998, 17
  11. ^ In addition to floods and earthquakes, Japan was blighted by a series of droughts which led to twenty periods of famine between 1675 and 1837 (Dolan and Worden 1994)
  12. ^ Addis 1985, 179
  13. ^ 2013
  14. ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica, Tempō Reforms
  15. ^ a b c The Fitzwilliam Museum
  16. ^ a b c Harris 2010, 156
  17. ^ Jesse 2012, 95
  18. ^ Fensom 2013
  19. ^ 1983, 6
  20. ^ Jordan 1985, 25
  21. ^ Davisson 2012
  22. ^ Richie 1983, 6
  23. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, Maruyama Ōkyo
  24. ^ Jordan suggests the painting was produced when Maruyama was “in his mid-forties” (1985, 33n), which would make it c. 1778; however, Stevenson states that it was completed for the shogun in or around 1760 (1983, 10), and yet another source believes it to date from 1750 (Chin Music Press).
  25. ^ Apocryphally, Maruyama once painted such a realistic ghost image that it came to life and terrified him. The incident is immortalized in a painting by Taiso Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) entitled 'Yoshitoshi Ryakuga'. (Art History Reference)
  26. ^ a b c Jordan 1985, 26
  27. ^ Stevenson suggests that in the absence of the subject, Maruyama’s dying aunt acted as his model (1983, 10)
  28. ^ See the 1831 series One Hundred [Ghost] Tales (Hyaku monogatari)
  29. ^ Chiappa, J. Noel and Levine, Jason M. 2009
  30. ^ Japan Echo
  31. ^ a b Liddell
  32. ^ See image at "Fuyuko Matsui Works". Archived from the original on 2018-03-22.
  33. ^ See images at "Tenmyouya Hisashi Paintings". Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  34. ^ "Matthew Meyer". Matthew Meyer. Retrieved 2022-10-13.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yūrei-zu&oldid=1172521944"