Japanese Woodblock Print, full title "The Ghost of Oiwa," from the series "One Hundred Ghost Stories" was originally published c.1831-2, this is a later edition published from recarved woodblocks.

SIZE IN INCHES: chuban, 7.75 x 11.5 inches

COMMENTS: The ghost tale of Iwa is a famous story based on the real event, known as "Yotsuya Kaidan (Ghost Tale in Yotsuya)", which was made into a Kabuki play by Tsuruya Nanboku. An unemployed samurai, Tamiya Iemon married Iwa, a daughter of a warrior family looking for a man who can carry on their family name. After the marriage, he poisoned and killed his wife, and was thereafter haunted by her ghost. Iemon flees to an isolated mountain retreat. There he rapidly descends into madness as his dreams and reality begin to merge and Oiwa's haunting intensifies.

KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI (1760-1849), who also used the names Shunro, Sori, Kako, Taito, Gakyojin, Iitsu, and Manji, was a Japanese master artist and printmaker of the ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) school. His early works represent the full spectrum of ukiyo-e art, including single sheet prints of landscapes and actors, hand paintings, and surimono (printed things), such as greetings and announcements. Later he concentrated on the classical themes of the samurai and Chinese subjects. His famous print series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” published between 1826 and 1833, marked the summit in the history of the Japanese landscape print.

Fine, no flaws