80 Kōgyo Tsukioka 1869 – 1927 Kinsatsu (The Golden Amulet)

publisher: Matsuki Heikichi (Daikokuya Heikichi)

From Tsukioka Kōgyo’s monumental series Nōgakuzue (“Illustrations of Noh Plays”), this print depicts a scene from the play Kinsatsu, in which the demon-quelling deity Amatsu Futodama appears in the second act, armed with bow and arrows to restore cosmic balance. In Shinto mythology, Futodama – also known as Ame-no-Futodama-no-Mikoto – served as a divine ritualist and messenger of the sun goddess Amaterasu. He is said to have drawn the first shimenawa (sacred rope) across the entrance of the Heavenly Cave to prevent Amaterasu from retreating once light returned to the world, symbolizing purification and the triumph of order over chaos.

Kōgyo renders this divine presence with solemn grace and quiet energy, emphasizing the spiritual clarity of the Noh stage.
Soft colors, delicate embossing, and controlled composition convey a serene meditation on faith, ritual, and the eternal balance between darkness and light.