Onoe Kikugorō V as the Hag of Asajigahara

Curatorial Overview

“This image from the play The Lonely House shows a wicked hag preparing to murder a houseguest. She inadvertently kills her own daughter instead and, in shame and deep despair, repents her evil life. She ultimately attains Buddhahood through the grace of a bodhisattva—an enlightened person who delays nirvana to assist others—named Kannon. The flowers and vines in this scene stand out against the eerie deep blackness surrounding the pale-skinned witch. The poem on the print reads, “Through the yūgao vines / A high wind moans; / At the eaves” (translated by Segi Shin’ichi in Yoshitoshi: The Splendid Decadent [1985]).”