Japanese Woodblock Print, actual title "Sarayashiki" 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 10.5 inches

COMMENTS: This is the depiction of the aftermath of the death of Okiku, a story that first appeared as a play Bancho Sarayashiki (1741). There are a number of versions to this story, and in one of them, there was a beautiful servant girl Okiku who worked for Aoyama Tessan, a samurai. The samurai wanted Okiku as his lover and tricked her into believing that one of the ten invaluable Delft plates have been lost in the household. Normally, this would result in the servant’s death, but Aoyama stated that he would not hurt Okiku if she agrees to become his lover. When Okiku refused, he killed her by throwing her down the well. The Okiku ghost depicted by Hokusai comes from the well with the purpose of tormenting her murderer, sometimes screaming after counting to nine, or trying to find the final tenth plate. Hokusai painted Okiku as was customary at that time in painting ghosts: pale faces without lower limbs.

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