The Earth Spider Generates Monsters at the Mansion of Lord Minamoto Yorimitsu
Artist
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
(Japanese, 1797 - 1861)
Date1843
PeriodEdo period (1615–1868)
MediumWoodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsOverall: 14 1/8 × 28 3/4 in. (35.8 × 73.1 cm)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineGift of Mary and Robert Levenson, 2022
Object number2022.25.1
The warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu (aka Raikō), at right, huddles under a blanket on his sickbed. He is attended by four bodyguards. Watanabe not Tsuna and Sakata no Kintoki play go at center, flanked by Urabe no Suetake and Usui no Sadamitsu, who seem more alert. Unseen to them, the monstrous Earth Spider has conjured over 50 demons poised to clash in battle to torment Yorimitsu’s dreams.
Contemporary records indicate that the public saw the print as a satirical comment on the Tenpō Reforms, a set of economic policies issued by the Tokugawa administration between 1841 and 1843. Commentary on current political events was strictly forbidden under censorship laws. The publisher, spooked by the buzz the print had generated, tried to recall sold prints and destroyed the blocks. Consequently, impressions are rare today. Extant examples include BM 2008,3037.20906, possibly MFA Boston 11.39572a-c, and an impression at the Springfield Museums.
Pirated versions (e.g. MFA Boston 11.30462-4) and imitations (MFA Boston 11.39433, 11.21416VR) rapidly proliferated. This impression, however, is consistent with the original printing, as described by Timothy Clark, former curator of Japanese art at the British Museum. Early impressions are distinguished from latter versions by the following attributes: a) the publisher’s seal appears on all three sheets, b) the mouth of the pox-covered demoness on the center sheet is slightly open and her teeth are visible (her mouth is closed in later editions), c) two blocks, on black and the other grey, are used for printing the Earth Spider (as opposed to just black in later editions), Yoritomo’s face and hand are printed with flesh-colored modeling.
Each sheet is impressed with an unidentified collector's seal.
On View
Not on view
