Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, "Lucky Teakettle of Morin Temple"

The badger is known mystically as a shapeshifter and can transform itself into anything. In this story, a badger rewards a woodman who saved its life by transforming into a tea kettle. The woodsman sells the kettle to a temple. Unaware of the tea kettle's true identity, the badger lives among the temple's priests. Here the badger transforms into its true self while resting on a table. 

Series: New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts
Date 1889
Size: Oban
Publisher: Sasaki Toyokichi
Condition: Excellent color and condition (original album backing; light trimming)
Shown in Classic Wood, Walnut Frame

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi’s (1839-1892) Shinkei sanjurokkaissen (New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts) series of woodblock prints was the artist’s last series of works completed between 1889 and 1892 before his death. The prints from this series are exemplary of Yoshitoshi’s long interest on macabre and dark subjects, and is illustrative of his unique abilities to channel these subjects into beautifully captivating compositions. Tokaido Arts is pleased to offer a selection from one of Yoshitoshi’s most famous series of woodblock prints.