One Hundred Ghost Stories - 百物語 (Hyaku Monogatari)

This print portrays a gathering of storytellers engaged in the ghost-telling game Hyaku Monogatari, where one candle is extinguished after each tale until darkness invites spirits to appear. Kyosai turns the ritual into a humorous yet eerie scene: listeners tremble, storytellers exaggerate, and the boundary between imagination and reality dissolves. The work reflects the artist’s fascination with collective fear and the thin line separating laughter from terror.

Kawanabe Kyōsai
Woodblock print, ca. 1863–1866
From the series: One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai (暁斎百図, Kyōsai Hyakuzu)
Format: small-format sheet (koban-ban), first edition
Publisher: Wakasaya Yoichi (若狭屋与市)
Dimensions: approx. 13 × 18 cm
Medium: polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e) on handmade washi paper
Edition & Printing Details
This sheet belongs to the first edition of Kyōsai Hyakuzu, published between 1863–1866.

Note
This description is part of an evolving research project. Very few collections of this kind exist worldwide, and each newly studied sheet refines our understanding of the series. The catalogue will be continuously updated and expanded — leaving room for fresh interpretations, new connections, and unexpected discoveries that keep the collection alive and intriguing.