Takase Hako (1853-1924) nihonga Preta, Hunger Spirits - SkullsSigned: Shunjudô seijin Seals: Hako inshi Technique: sumi on paper 136.2 x 40.5 Date: 1914 Mounting: beige paper 195 x 54.2 Condition: good The waka reads: 篠の雪 / あへりて消えて / 日かげもの / 扇かがやて / 草にくねがさ羅。 Shino no yuki / a herite kiete / hi kage mono / ôgi ka gayate / kusa ni kune gasara The snow on the dwarf bamboo melts away the sunlight on the folding fan illuminates the "hunger spirits" in the grass. "hunger spirits" are skeletons emerging from under the snow. Possibly in relation with the Russo-Japanese war?? Hakô was born in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture. He was a Meiji-Taisho era journalist and social entrepreneur. He published the Tohoku Mainichi Shimbun in Sendai and advocated the theory of freedom and civil rights. He moved to Tokyo in 1882 and became a playwright. He used some 30 pseudonyms, Shunjudo was one of them. Price: EUR 1,200 / USD 1,200 ![]() | |