Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋暁斎) (artist 1831 – 1889)
Demon with umbrella and bell - 鬼神無横道
ca 1860
9.5 in x 13.75 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese color woodblock print
Signed: Ōju Seisei Kyōsai (?)
応需惺々暁斎 (?)
Artist's seal?: Saké bottle and cup
Publisher: Maruya (?)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - a Kyōsai painting with a similar scene An aka-oni or red-horned demon is banging a gong much like a mendicant priest would. The image is based on that of an Otsu-e. The oni no nenbutsu (鬼の寒念仏) is a demon possibly disguised as a Buddhist priest invoking the name of Buddha.
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The use of a saké bottle and cup as a seal is not surprising because of Kyōsai's known enjoyment for drinking. On top of that Kyōsai used numerous different personal seals. While we haven't found another exact copy of this seal we did find a similar one of a saké bottle - without the cup - on a fan painting in the British Museum.
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Illustrated in color in Japanese Yōkai and Other Supernatural Beings: Authentic Paintings and Prints of 100 Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and Magicians by Andreas Marks, Tuttle Publishing, 2023, p. 206. This exact print is the one illustrated in this volume.
Yūrei-zu (幽霊図 - ghosts demons monsters and spirits) (genre)
Ōtsu-e (大津絵) (author)