The Floating World
The Earth Spider Conjures Demons at the Mansion of Minamoto no Raikō
源頼光公館土蜘作妖怪図
Utagawa Kuniyoshi · 1843
What it is
The hero Minamoto no Raikō lies fevered in bed while the monstrous Earth Spider looms behind him, spinning a horde of demons that streams across the upper sheets as his four retainers sit unaware at their game of go.
Why it matters
Edo read it at once as satire — the ailing shogun, the ministers looking away, the demons as the aggrieved victims of the Tenpō Reforms; officials forced its withdrawal, and the scandal made it one of the most sought-after prints of its day.
What to notice
None of the demons is repeated: each is its own invention, and contemporaries claimed to recognize particular officials among them. The retainers’ go board sits in lamplight while the whole ceiling of the picture crawls.
"Say nothing directly. The monsters will say it for you."
The record
- Artist
- Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798–1861)
- Date
- 1843
- Medium
- woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons · Warrior Minamoto Raiko and the Earth Spider LACMA M.2006.136.292a-c (1 of 2).jpg
Impression note. The design was hugely popular and quickly suppressed, so printings vary widely; a fine impression keeps the demon horde’s dense keyblock detail legible into the dark upper sheets and the spider’s web-lines crisp. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.
Public domain; faithfully reproduced.
Bring it home
A triptych — sold as a three-panel set, priced below three singles.
Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.
More Utagawa Kuniyoshi
One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)Rōshi EnseiUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30 · from $69.00
One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)Tanmeijirō GenshōgoUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30
One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)Kaoshō RochishinUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30
One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)Kokusenpū RikiUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.