Katsushika Hokusai
Today is not only Halloween but also the birthday of Katsushika Hokusai! To celebrate this, we’re sharing one of his eerie ghost prints from One Hundred Ghost Tales.
In this print, a horned female demon (hannya) clutches the severed head of a child, blood dripping from wounds inflicted by her long nails. The terrifying image alludes to the legend of Kishimojin, known in Sanskrit as Hariti, an early Buddhist goddess. Once a fearsome ogress who preyed upon the infants of Rajgir, India, she was transformed after the Buddha hid one of her own children, forcing her to recognize the suffering she had caused. Converted to Buddhism, Hariti was ultimately revered as a protector of children.
Though the artist intended to create a full set of one hundred designs, only five prints survive. The title refers to a ghost-storytelling game in which participants extinguished a candle after each tale until the room lay in complete darkness. These compact works feature vivid Berlin blue, or Prussian blue—a pigment newly affordable at the time. While this brilliant hue may appear cheerful today, Hokusai’s contemporaries would have linked it to death and the supernatural.
P.S. Our Halloween treat: 20% off everything in the DailyArt Shop ... but only until midnight! Don’t miss it! Grab our Japanese Art Postcards (and more) with a discount!
P.P.S. Do you know these spooky paintings? Take a quiz!