Onoe Kikugorō V as the Hag of Asajigahara

Onoe Kikugorō V as the Hag of Asajigahara — Yoshitoshi. 1890.

Medium: Color woodblock prints; ōban triptych. Dimensions: 36.2 × 74.1 cm (14 5/16 × 29 3/16 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

This image from the play The Lonely House shows a wicked hag preparing to murder a houseguest. She inadvertently kills her own daughter instead and, in shame and deep despair, repents her evil life. She ultimately attains Buddhahood through the grace of a bodhisattva—an enlightened person who delays nirvana to assist others—named Kannon. The flowers and vines in this scene stand out against the eerie deep blackness surrounding the pale-skinned witch. The poem on the print reads, “Through the yūgao vines / A high wind moans; / At the eaves” (translated by Segi Shin’ichi in Yoshitoshi: The Splendid Decadent [1985]).

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.