Artwork Page for An Illustrated Marriage of Apparitions

Details / Information for An Illustrated Marriage of Apparitions

An Illustrated Marriage of Apparitions

化物婚礼絵巻

mid-1800s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
Medium
handscroll; ink and color on paper
Measurements
Overall: 29.2 cm (11 1/2 in.); Painting only: 25.9 x 1310.6 cm (10 3/16 x 516 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1987.194
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The matchmaking, engagement, wedding, and birth of the first child of two apparitions, or bakemono, literally "things that change," are illustrated in this whimsical, humorous handscroll. Japanese folklore abounds with such strange creatures, most famously represented in handscrolls featuring a procession of 100 supernatural monsters. Aside from a textual preface and cartouches indicating the content of the scenes, the tale is told visually. The artist and whereabouts of the original handscroll are unknown, but a number of other 19th-century copies by amateur painters exist in Japanese collections, attesting to its broad appeal.
A horizontally oriented handscroll depicts a dense procession of figures with light skin tones and hybrid monsters moving toward our right. Wearing robes in shades of red, green, and gray, the group floats against a cream background. Two large, solid red circles punctuate the scene. Outlined with thin ink, figures carry various objects across the expansive composition, where creatures mingle with humans in a continuous line.

An Illustrated Marriage of Apparitions

mid-1800s

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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