Drypoint etching, 100×150, October 2020 Series: Japanese phantoms In the Edo period, this yokai appeared at Tenpaizan mountain in Chikuzen Province (now Fukuoka Prefecture). It claimed to be a beast of the twelve signs of the zodiac that had been honoured since the age of the gods, and called on people to draw its figure … Read more

Drypoint etching, 100×150, October 2020 Series: Japanese phantoms In the Edo period (probably in 1849), a female voice called out to people from the ocean in Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture). This heteromorph in a spiral shell called herself ‘Umidebito’ (person from the sea), and said, ‘There will be a good harvest for five years, … Read more

Drypoint etching, 100×150, September 2020 Series: Japanese phantoms According to a newspaper article in 1876, the Alie, which was the leader of the scaled beasts under the sea, was said to have appeared in Higo Province (now Kumamoto Prefecture). It told people to draw its figure and make devotions in the morning and evening to … Read more

Drypoint etching, 100×150, August 2020 Series: Japanese phantoms It appeared in the mountains in Amakusa, Higo Province (now Kumamoto Prefecture) in 1843. It had three legs, and was covered with leaves or feathers. It foretold a plague, and it was said that one could escape misfortune by looking at its picture every day.