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Parody of the Killing of the Nue, from the series Picture Siblings (E-kyôdai)

Parody of the Killing of the Nue, from the series Picture Siblings (E-kyôdai)

(Japanese, early 1750s–1806)
(Japanese)
about 1798 (Kansei 10)
Medium/TechniqueWoodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsVertical ôban; 38.2 x 25.8 cm (15 1/16 x 10 3/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Captain John C. Phillips
Accession number18.300
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPrints
Description
The story of the defeat of the legendary nue, pictured in the small inset, is humorously compared to the defeat of a common rat.  The nue, which terrorized the Imperial palace in the twelfth century, was shot down by the famous warrior Minamoto Yorimasa and killed by his retainer I no Hayata Hironao.  Here a woman with a taper plays the role of Yorimasa, as she lights the room so that a young boy, imitating Hironao, can trap the rat with a box.  Perhaps the rat disturbed the family’s sleep by running across the rafters, just as the nue disrupted the emperor’s repose by flying over the palace.
Provenance1918, gift of Captain John C. Phillips to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 16, 1918)