79 Kōgyo Tsukioka 1869 – 1927 Sesshōseki (The Death Rock)

publisher: Matsuki Heikichi (Daikokuya Heikichi)

From Tsukioka Kōgyo’s monumental series Nōgakuzue, this print depicts a scene from the Noh play Sesshōseki (“The Death Rock”). As the priest Gennō travels from the northern provinces to the capital, he reaches Nasuno Plain and encounters a large stone known as the “death rock.”
A local woman warns him that it contains the evil spirit of a golden-haired fox that kills any living being that comes near. She explains that long ago the spirit was expelled from the imperial palace for endangering the emperor’s life and took refuge within the rock. When Gennō prays for its salvation, the rock splits open and the spirit emerges, confessing its sins and vowing to harm no more.

Kōgyo renders the scene with delicate color and spiritual restraint, evoking a sense of reconciliation between the human and supernatural realms that lies at the heart of the Noh tradition.