Kawanabe Kyosai woodblock “Kito Tenno (Spectral Cat Procession)”, 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

Subject and scene
A festive parade carrying a huge demon mask (oni-head), surrounded by dancers and spectators with fans and parasols. The mask’s feline features suggest a spectral cat spirit (bakeneko) hidden within the ritual image of Kito Tenno. The composition merges the atmosphere of a shrine procession and Kyosai’s grotesque theatre of yokai.

Meaning and context
Both humorous and unsettling, this scene plays with the boundary between ritual and illusion. Kyosai transforms a religious procession into satire on collective hysteria and spectacle. Later reprints of this sheet bear the title Kito Tenno, while early impressions were sometimes interpreted as a “Spectral Cat Procession.”

Material and stylistic notes
Printed on thin handmade washi with bright pigments and sharp lines. The green background and strong orange mask correspond to early production typical of the 1860s, though both known editions share the same design.

Condition
Good for its age; pigments remain clear, paper with marks of time and light edge wear.

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