Sketch of Ibaraki-dōji

Sketch of Ibaraki-dōji

Shibata Zeshin, c. 1840

Download3230 × 3049 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891)
Medium: Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Size: Overall: 214.6 x 195.5 cm (84 1/2 x 76 15/16 in.); Mounted: 205.2 x 185.2 cm (80 13/16 x 72 15/16 in.); Painting only: 161 x 172.2 cm (63 3/8 x 67 13/16 in.)
Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Even before the arrival of US ships demanding trade, Japan’s military government was experiencing economic challenges. This preparatory drawing is for a wooden plaque to be offered to a shrine, beseeching divine intervention in business affairs. Commissioned by a wholesalers’ union, it shows the demon Ibaraki-dōji reclaiming his arm from a warrior who, according to legend, had cut it off. The repossession of the arm is a metaphor for the union’s desire for the restoration of rights to sell sugar, which had been rescinded by the government as part of a misguided effort to stabilize the economy.

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