UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861) The Monster Skeleton Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1844Property of various ownersUTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)The Monster Skeleton Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1844An ōban tate-e print triptych entitled Sōma no furudairi ni Masakado himegimi Takiyasha yōjutsu o motte mikata o atsumuru, Ōya no Taro Mitsukuni yōkai o tamesan to koko ni kitari tsui ni kore o horobosu (In the Ruined Palace of [Taira] Masakado at Sōma His Daughter Princess Takiyasha Uses Sorcery to Summon Allies, Ōya no Tarō Mitsukuni Comes to Put the Monster to the Test and Finally Destroys It), with red cartouches identifying (right to left) Takiyasha's faithful servant Araimaru, Ōya no Tarō Mitsukuni, and Princess Takiyasha; each sheet signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga (the right-hand sheet with paulownia-leaf seal); publisher's marks Hachi; censor's seals Watari (3) 15 x 10 1/4in (38.1 x 26cm) each approximatelyThe background to the appearance of the skeleton specter is as follows: Taira no Masakado (d.940) had once tried to set himself up as a rival to the legitimate emperor of Japan, building his own imperial palace in a remote part of the country. His daughter the beautiful sorceress Takiyasha (seen at left) lives on in the dilapidated building along with her retainer Araimaru (right), her presence a lingering threat to the authority of the rival Minamoto clan, whose leader Yorinobu (968-1048) sends the hero Ōya no Tarō Mitsukuni (center) to destroy her. Kuniyoshi draws us into the very heart of the drama as Mitsukuni, undeterred by the vast, looming presence of the skeleton clutching at the palace's decaying blinds, subdues the hapless Araimaru without so much as unsheathing his sword.Kuniyoshi drew on multiple sources—both Japanese and European—in conceiving this extraordinary work, perhaps starting with an illustrated novella published nearly 40 years earlier that featured armies of hundreds of skeletons; a later print by Hokusai, as well as theatrical performances featuring model skeletons, may also have inspired him. As with several other triptychs from this phase in his career, Kuniyoshi chose to simplify things as much as possible, featuring just one skeleton to unify the whole composition. He is thought to have owned a collection of imported prints and the confident anatomical authenticity of the specter likely owed much to his study of Western medical illustration.