title: 大江山鬼人退治ノ図 - 座敷幟三本続 /
Oeyama oni nintaiji no zu - Scenes of the Mount Oe demon
exterminators; a sequential triptych in the style of interior
banners (not sure about the
reading of the title’s second part)
Robert Pryor: “The three pictures are to be read sequentially
(like a handscroll right to left), not as a single picture.
It’s like a cartoon strip of the story of Yorimitsu and the
Shitenno (and Fujiwara no Hosho) destroying the demon king
Shuten-doji his minions on Mount Oe. Right panel - the heroes
meet the kami and receive the gift of heavenly sake, they
disguise themselves as yamabushi and head on their way. Centre
panel - they travel through the cave tunnel and emerge and find
the laundry woman who tells them the story of the demons and
kidnapped women. Left panel – they meet with Shuten-doji,
attended by the captured women, and during the entertainment
serve the sake that will allow them to destroy the demons.“ signature: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga
size: nagaban
date: c. 1835
censor: kiwame
pub: Moriya Jihei
ref: thanks to Robert Pryor for the better image
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