45 - Sekien: Tengu

Sekien: Tengu

Toriyama Sekien (1712-1788) was a specialist in folklore and initially a painter of the Kanō school. He also created woodcut art. His most famous work is the cataloguing of yōkai, folkloristic, supernatural figures, which was published in four e-hon series, Hyakki Yagyō.

The Illustrated Night Parade of A Hundred Demons (1776)
The Illustrated One Hundred Demons from the Present and the Past (1779)
Supplement to The Hundred Demons from the Present and the Past (1780)
The Illustrated Bag of One Hundred Random Demons (1784)

The print this week is Tengu, from Hyakki Yagyō, 1776.

37 - Kyōsai: Tengu and a Buddhist Monk

Kyōsai: Tengu and a Buddhist Monk

Tengu are folkloristic figures of Japan. A sort of  kami or yōkai. They are something in between humans and birds and are depicted with a beak or long nose. The one we see here (right), is clearly bird-like.

Tengu and a Buddhist Monk, is a painting by Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831-1889).