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「狂斎百狂 どふけ百万遍」
At Japanese Buddhist temples, worshippers sometimes prayed by passing a gigantic rosary from hand to hand, a custom that became a metaphor for tiresome repetition. This bizarre triptych satirizes the complicated political situation in Japan in the 1860s. The central octopus has not eight but five tentacles; it represents the five foreign nations that had recently made trade agreements with Japan. The other figures are the many factions within Japan, who cannot agree on how best to deal with the foreigners.
Comic One Hundred Turns of the Rosary (Dôke hyakumanben), from the series One Hundred Wildnesses by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakkyô)
「狂斎百狂 どふけ百万遍」
Japanese
Edo period
1864 (Bunkyû 4/Genji 1), 3rd month
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ôban triptych; 36 × 73.8 cm (14 3/16 × 29 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.40055a-c
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
At Japanese Buddhist temples, worshippers sometimes prayed by passing a gigantic rosary from hand to hand, a custom that became a metaphor for tiresome repetition. This bizarre triptych satirizes the complicated political situation in Japan in the 1860s. The central octopus has not eight but five tentacles; it represents the five foreign nations that had recently made trade agreements with Japan. The other figures are the many factions within Japan, who cannot agree on how best to deal with the foreigners.
Catalogue Raisonné
Oikawa, Clark & Forrer, Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyôsai/Kyôsai giga kyôga ten (1996), #117; Clark, Demon of Painting (1993), #75; Ôta Memorial Museum of Art, Utagawa-ha (Kobijutsu special issue, 1986), #347; Genshoku ukiyo-e dai hyakka jiten 9 (1981), #202
DescriptionMFA impressions: 11.22757VR (11.22757, 11.22758, 11.38601), 11.22759-61, 11.37044a-c, 11.40055a-c, 11.40056 (right sheet only)
Signed
Kyôsai (on right sheet), Seisei Kyôsai giga (on left sheet)
狂斎 惺々狂斎戯画
狂斎 惺々狂斎戯画
Marks
Censor's seal: Rat 3 aratame
No blockcutter's mark
改印：子三改
彫師：なし
No blockcutter's mark
改印：子三改
彫師：なし
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850–d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 19, 2005)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.