FR EN
an image of a painting of a man holding a fish in his hand
Premium FRANCOIS EPIN ART & DESIGN CONSULTING

2 - Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,200 - €1,500
Sale commission
Description
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) Nissaka 日坂 – The Stone that Weeps at Night Sayo no Nakayama Yonaki-ishi 小夜の中山夜啼石 From the series Tōkaidō gojūsan tsui 東海道五十三対 The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Japan, Edo period, c. 1845 Polychrome nishiki-e woodblock print, ink and colours on paper Signed Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga 一勇斎国芳画 Publisher: Ibaya Sensaburō Format: ōban tate-e 36.3 × 24.9 cm Bibliography Robert Schaap, Heroes and Ghosts, Hotei Publishing, Leiden / Amsterdam / Philadelphia, p. 73, no. 48. This print belongs to one of the most original series devoted to the great Tōkaidō road linking Edo to Kyoto. Published around 1845, *Tōkaidō gojūsan tsui* was collectively conceived by three of the leading masters of the Utagawa school — Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige and Kunisada. Rather than simply depicting the landscapes of the fifty-three post stations, the artists associated each station with a legend, a historical or literary anecdote, transforming the journey along the Tōkaidō into a succession of narratives and visual enigmas. For the Nissaka station, Kuniyoshi chose the famous legend of the Yonaki-ishi, the ‘stone that weeps at night’, situated at the Sayo no Nakayama pass. In a moonlit clearing, a traveller receives a newborn baby from the hands of the ghostly apparition of a woman. The ghost’s otherworldly pallor contrasts with the warrior’s blue kimono and the two supernatural flames, hito-dama, which flicker in the foreground. According to the narrative depicted in the upper cartouche of the print, a pregnant woman was travelling along this road whilst her husband was in the east of the country. Attacked on the Kutsukake moor, she was murdered by a bandit. Her child, however, survived and was nourished thanks to the miraculous intervention of Kannon. When the husband returned, he heard of the mysterious stone from which nocturnal wailing emanated. Near the stone, the spirit of his wife appeared to him, revealed the circumstances of her death and handed their child to him. Another version of the legend tells that the newborn was taken in and raised by a monk before becoming a blacksmith. Years later, the murderer is said to have brought him the sword that had been damaged during the attack; by doing so, he unwittingly confessed to his crime, thereby enabling the son to avenge his mother’s death. The stone, steeped in the victim’s blood and inhabited by her spirit, is said to have continued to weep every night. Here, Kuniyoshi focuses less on the horror and more on the tragic and emotional dimension of the story. The female yūrei does not appear to attack the traveller. Her gesture is that of a mother entrusting her child to his father before she can fade away. Her translucent body, gradually fading at the lower half, already belongs to the other world, whilst the spectral flames give tangible form to her supernatural presence. The work thus stands as a remarkable example of Kuniyoshi’s narrative art. The fantastical, the nocturnal landscape and human drama come together in a particularly theatrical composition, characteristic of the artist’s interest in heroes, legends and the supernatural world.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Art Animation VII: Monsters, Villains and Antagonists
Auction location
Auction time 10/18/2026 at 3:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like