Ghosts Appearing in the Forbidden Forest of Yawata

Original Language Title不知藪八幡之実怪

Artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Japanese, 1839 - 1892)

Date1881

MediumWoodblock prints; ink and color on paper

DimensionsImage: 13 13/16 × 28 5/16 inches (35.08 × 71.91 cm)

Credit LineGift of Yellow Freight System, Inc.

Object numberF90-12/2

On View

Not on view

Gallery Location

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

Exhibition History

Sages and Heroes: Storytelling in Asian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 12, 2025–November 30, 2025, no cat.

Gallery Label

Artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi shows Tokugawa Mitsukuni, lord of Mito Domain, in a mythical story created after his death. According to legend, travelers entering a forbidden forest risk being spirited away. In this story, Mitsukuni entered the forest to prove the belief was a lie. In this image, Mitsukuni, at right, is confronted by the forest spirit who appears as an elderly man in the center. He and surrounding demons and ghosts intimidate Mitsukuni so he never enters the forest again.

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