Kawanabe Kyosai woodblock “Boiling Navel Tea; Biting a Man’s Leg”, Edo satire 1863–66

Artist: Kawanabe Kyosai (1831–1889)
Series: One Hundred Pictures by Kyosai (暁斎百図, Kyosai Hyakuzu)
Date: ca. 1863–1866 (late Edo period)
Publishers and editions: the series was issued twice in the 19th century — first as single sheets in the 1860s (Wakasaya Yoichi), and later as an album reprint in the 1880s (Okura Magobei)
Format: chūban (approx. 13 × 18 cm)
Medium: polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e) on handmade washi paper

This satirical woodblock print by Kawanabe Kyōsai visualizes two well-known Japanese idioms through grotesque imagination and physical humor.
The upper scene illustrates the saying “boiling tea on the belly button” (heso de cha o wakasu), an expression meaning something so absurd that one cannot stop laughing. The lower scene shows another idiom — “biting the shin of a parent” (oya no sune o kajiru), which describes someone living off their parents’ support.
By transforming abstract phrases into vivid, exaggerated figures, Kawanabe Kyōsai combines visual wit with linguistic play, reflecting the Edo–Meiji taste for satirical and moral humor. Such prints often served both as entertainment and social commentary, turning familiar proverbs into comically literal images.

Material and stylistic notes
Printed on moderately thick handmade washi characteristic of early impressions distributed as single sheets (not bound album copies). Distinct pigment bleed and warm color gradients confirm hand-printed technique typical of 1860s editions.

Condition
Good for its age; vivid pigments, paper with natural wear and marks of time.

Shipping
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For US buyers: this item enters the United States duty-free.