Ôtsu-e (大津絵) “Oni no Nenbutsu" (鬼の寒念仏) ("A Demon's Winter Prayers")

Ôtsu-e (大津絵)
"Oni no Nenbutsu" (鬼の寒念仏) ("A Demon's Winter Prayers")
Stencil with painted highlights and calligraphy 
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Probably 18th Century

Measures:-
65 cm x 22.5 (image)
128 cm x 32 cm (scroll)

Provenance:-
Christie's London (unidentified sale)
Private Collection, U.K. 

Silk hanging-scroll mounted, with a distinctive 'Ôtsu-e' stencil painting on paper (a traditional folk art picture from Ōtsu in the Shiga Prefecture, on the Japanese island of Honshu).

From the early Edo period through to the Meiji era, Otsu-e became popular souvenirs for those travelling along the Tōkaidō road. They remain a relatively obscure artform outside Japan (although in 2019 the 'Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris' hosted the first large-scale European exhibition of Otsu-e (in collaboration with 'Otsu City History Museum'))[1].

The particular image here is a well-known comic subject entitled "Oni no Nenbutsu" ("A Demon's Winter Prayers"). It is a humorous portrayal of a demon, disguised as an itinerant Buddhist monk collecting alms during the wintertime. He carries a gong and a donation register with an umbrella strapped to his back. The picture pokes-fun of those who appear to be acting in good faith but who, in reality, lack genuine piety. One of the creature's horns is broken however, suggesting that, perhaps, even a demon has some chance of spiritual transformation.

For a very similar example, dated to the 18th Century, see Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Accession No.1970.25.59 (Museum Purchase, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts Endowment Fund).

Notes:-
Good condition. Some creasing and staining to the painting and scroll-mount, commensurate with age. Retrains a Christie's Lot No. Label (1970s(?)) for an untraced auction. Contained within a traditional Japanese wooden lidded box. 

Notes:-
[1] See 'Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris': "Otsu-e: Paintings of the Japanese Common People" April-June 2019