Description
Interesting polychrome woodblock print made by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎), the famous caricaturist nicknamed “The Painting Demon”, entitled “Profile View of the Guardian God” (側面金剛図) and depicting Ungyo (吽形), one of the two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha, standing at the entrance of many temples in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues.
The work, printed in December 1891, is taken from issue 15 (巻十五) of Bijutsu Sekai (美術世界), that is “The World of Art”, the famous magazine edited by the nihonga (日本画) painter Watanabe Seitei (渡辺省亭) and produced by the publisher Wada Tokutaro (和田篤太郎) of Shunyodo (春陽堂).
The print, made in collaboration with the carver Goto Tokujiro (五島徳次郎) and the printer Komatsu Kakutaro (小松角太郎), despite the right signs of aging, is in good general condition.
