One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai (暁斎百図, Kyōsai Hyakuzu)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai (暁斎百図, Kyōsai Hyakuzu)
Kawanabe Kyōsai
Woodblock print, ca. 1863–1866
From the series: One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai (暁斎百図, Kyōsai Hyakuzu)
Format: small-format sheet (koban-ban), first edition
Publisher: Wakasaya Yoichi (若狭屋与市)
Dimensions: approx. 13 × 18 cm
Medium: polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e) on handmade washi paper
Edition & Printing Details
This sheet belongs to the first edition of Kyōsai Hyakuzu, published between 1863–1866. As with many prints in this series, it was issued without signature or seal.
Genre and Significance
Genre: satirical jigoku-e (“pictures of hell”), grotesque parody of moralistic themes
Style: comic grotesque, Buddhist iconography turned upside down
Significance: the accompanying verse reads “Even the forms of hell, if the heart advances, advance as well” — a didactic maxim twisted into carnivalesque chaos. The presence of Jizō Bodhisattva adds an ironic counterpoint.
Market rarity: moderate to high, especially for early impressions without heavy wear
Note
This description is part of an evolving research project. Very few collections of this kind exist worldwide, and each newly studied sheet refines our understanding of the series. The catalogue will be continuously updated and expanded — leaving room for fresh interpretations, new connections, and unexpected discoveries that keep the collection alive and intriguing.
Woodblock print, ca. 1863–1866
From the series: One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai (暁斎百図, Kyōsai Hyakuzu)
Format: small-format sheet (koban-ban), first edition
Publisher: Wakasaya Yoichi (若狭屋与市)
Dimensions: approx. 13 × 18 cm
Medium: polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e) on handmade washi paper
Edition & Printing Details
This sheet belongs to the first edition of Kyōsai Hyakuzu, published between 1863–1866. As with many prints in this series, it was issued without signature or seal.
Genre and Significance
Genre: satirical jigoku-e (“pictures of hell”), grotesque parody of moralistic themes
Style: comic grotesque, Buddhist iconography turned upside down
Significance: the accompanying verse reads “Even the forms of hell, if the heart advances, advance as well” — a didactic maxim twisted into carnivalesque chaos. The presence of Jizō Bodhisattva adds an ironic counterpoint.
Market rarity: moderate to high, especially for early impressions without heavy wear
Note
This description is part of an evolving research project. Very few collections of this kind exist worldwide, and each newly studied sheet refines our understanding of the series. The catalogue will be continuously updated and expanded — leaving room for fresh interpretations, new connections, and unexpected discoveries that keep the collection alive and intriguing.