Hell Courtesan
Kawanabe Kyōsai1871–89
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Kawanabe Kyōsai repeated this large-scale composition with variations a number of times. In this version, a famous 15th-century courtesan known for wearing a robe with images of the Buddhist hells stands before a folding screen. Legend has it that she was abducted by bandits, and wore the garment to symbolize her belief that her suffering in her current life was punishment for sins committed in a former life. Here, in a parody depiction of the garment, the courtesan stands in for Benzaiten, the goddess of everything that flows, while the remaining members of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune appear on her outer robe. One of them reports sins to Enma, the King of Hell, who is writing out his judgments on the recently deceased.
- Title: Hell Courtesan
- Creator: Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
- Date Created: 1871–89
- Physical Dimensions: Image: 144.2 x 67.6 cm (56 3/4 x 26 5/8 in.); Overall: 233.7 x 92.1 cm (92 x 36 1/4 in.)
- Provenance: (Nathan Chaikin, Switzerland, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith), The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.268
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and silver on silk
- Original Title: 地獄太夫図
- Inscriptions: artist's signature and two seals, lower right.
- Fun Fact: The word for longevity appears multiple times in gold and silver on her outer robe.
- Department: Japanese Art
- Culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)
- Credit Line: The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
- Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
- Accession Number: 1985.268
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
