Kawanabe Kyosai
The Demon of Painting, Revolutionary and Sake Enthusiast
Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋 暁斎, May 18, 1831 – April 26, 1889) is a figure whose life and work are intertwined with a transformative era in Japan, spanning the transition from the feudal Edo period to the modernized Meiji era. This artist and caricaturist, individualist and perhaps the last virtuoso of traditional Japanese painting, left an indelible mark on art history. His works blend mysticism, satire, and bold humor, while rumors of his eccentric behavior and love for sake add a spicy edge to his legacy.
Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋 暁斎, May 18, 1831 – April 26, 1889) is a figure whose life and work are intertwined with a transformative era in Japan, spanning the transition from the feudal Edo period to the modernized Meiji era. This artist and caricaturist, individualist and perhaps the last virtuoso of traditional Japanese painting, left an indelible mark on art history. His works blend mysticism, satire, and bold humor, while rumors of his eccentric behavior and love for sake add a spicy edge to his legacy.
One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai
Detailed images from the series
(I) Nails in the Rice Bran / Clamps on the Tofu - (II) You Can’t Help Getting Tied Up in Long Things
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
(I) Three Heads Are Better Than One / The Lantern and the Temple Bell - (II) Always Remember Your Duty and Your Underwear
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
(II) A Fruit-bearing Tree Is Known From Its Flowers; Fighting Like Dogs and Monkeys
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Flower on a Withered Tree / Strolling Like a Dog on the Riverbank
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Even pigeons roost at different heights according to seniority; even crows show filial piety when the young feed their parents
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Hated Things Prosper / A Crow Imitates a Cormorant
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Three Old Men in Formal, Semiformal, and Informal Styles
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Boiling Navel Tea, Biting a Man’s Leg
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Eight Tengu Versus a Little Boy / Fugu Is Delicious but Life Is Sweet
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Takasago (高砂)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Holiday in Hell / Legends of Yokai and Spirits
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Wind in the Ear of a Horse; Led by an Ox on a Pilgrimage to Zenko-ji
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
The Great Tengu Does Calligraphy, A Nose-pulling Contest with an Elephant
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Danzaburō Tanuki of Sado
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Children Swimming / Bathing in Water
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
The Chaotic Calligraphy Lesson
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Riding a Horse Into a Wall Like Flies on Rice
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
A Serpent Comes Out of the Ash Container
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
A Demon in the Stomach
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
The Sparrow Dance (すずめ踊り, Suzume Odori)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
The Robbers
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
One Hundred Ghost Stories - 百物語 (Hyaku Monogatari)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Scholar’s Moral Decay / One Turns Red When Mingling with Vermilion
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Foreign Children at Play
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
A Gathering of Blind Men (群盲の図, Gunmō no zu)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Even a Sardine Head Will Protect Those Who Truly Believe / Eight Suitors for One Daughter (鰯の頭も信じれば守る・娘一人に婿八人)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Acrobatics by Pigs
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Watōnai as a Famous Toymaker
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Fine Clothes for Horse Grooms
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Putting Her Husband Under Her Behind; Plastering Mud on Her Husband’s Face
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
From the Thicket, a Pole (Yabu kara bō): Monkey Songoku and the Seven Sages
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Plowing in the Bushes
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
A Sweet Pastry into the Open Mouth; Love Makes No Distinction Between High and Low
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
White Sake for Otafuku; No Medicine for Foolishness
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Even Jizō Will Be Angry If You Touch His Face Three Times (地蔵の顔も三度撫れば腹を立つ)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Doing the Laundry While the Demon Is Away / A Child Unlike Its Parents Is a Demon Child
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
A Buddha in Hell
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
The Child of a Frog Becomes a Frog / Water on a Frog’s Face
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Love Makes People Stupid
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
The Spectral Cat
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
A Hundred Days of Sermons, Undone by One Fart / The Boy and the Nun (百日説法屁一つ・その子と比丘尼さま)
One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)