The Earth Spider Conjures up Demons at the Mansion of Minamoto Raikō

This print depicts the tenth-century warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu, also known as Raikō, who was famed for his legendary skill in the martial arts. This scene shows an episode in which Raikō, seen on the far right of the triptych, has been overpowered by the evil magic of the vicious earth spider and has fallen into a dreamlike trance. His four retainers are unaware of the demons. The print was also seen as a satire on the unpopular Tenpō reforms that were carried out in the 1840s. The sleeping Raikō could be interpreted as the shogun and the ghosts as the suffering victims of the reforms.

Details

Title

The Earth Spider Conjures up Demons at the Mansion of Minamoto Raikō
Artist/maker

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861) (designer)
Associated people

Usui no Tadamitsu (active 11th century) (subject)

Urabe no Suetake (active 11th century) (subject)

Sakata no Kintoki (died 1021) (subject)

Watanabe no Tsuna (AD 953 - 1025) (subject)

Minamoto no Yorimitsu (AD 944 - 1021) (subject)

Ibaya Senzaburō (active c. 1820s - c. 1870s) (publisher)
Associated place

Tōkyō (place of creation)

Tōkyō (place of publication)
Date

1843
Edo Period (1600 - 1868)
Material and technique

woodblock print, with bokashi (tonal gradation)
Material index

paper
Technique index

colour woodcut
Object type

triptych print
Dimensions

35 x 72.5 cm estimated, max. (height x width)
No. of items

1
Credit line

Presented by George Grigs, Miss Elizabeth Grigs, and Miss Susan Messer, in memory of Derick Grigs, 1971.
Museum location

not on display
Museum department

Eastern Art
Accession no.

EA1971.164