Utagawa Hiroshige II, Night Rain at Akasaka Kiribatake (Akasaka Kiribatake uchû yûkei), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei): 1859.

Purchased at an auction last Sunday.

Eishosai Choki (fl. 1780s-1800s), Sunrise at New Year

A bijin (beautiful woman), presumably a courtesan, has risen early to greet the rising sun of the New Year at the waterfront at Fukagawa in Edo. The woman is adjusting the top of her kimono to protect against the chill of the early morning. In the lower-left is a blossoming fukujuso plant, emblematic of the New Year.

Gekko, The Nine-tailed Fox Disguised as Tamamo No Mae, 1896.

New York Post:

As if the world doesn’t have enough problems, people are now worried that an evil demon locked in a rock for almost 1,000 years is on the loose.

The so-called ‘killing stone’ that kept the malevolent spirit imprisoned all this time has split in two, sending believers into a state of panic.

Japanese legend has it that anyone who comes into contact with the rock will die.

According to mythology, the volcanic rock – officially called Sessho-seki – is home to Tamomo-No-Mae, aka the Nine-Tailed Fox.

The demon apparently took the form of a beautiful woman, who was part of a plot to kill Emperor Toba, ruler of Japan from 1107 to 1123.

Located in the mountainous northern region of Tochigi, near Tokyo, the rock is something of a tourist hotspot – but now visitors are fearful.

Some speculate that the evil spirit may have even been resurrected to wreck havoc once more.

RTWT

Eishosai Choki (fl. 1780s-1800s), Sunrise at New Year

A bijin (beautiful woman), presumably a courtesan, has risen early to greet the rising sun of the New Year at the waterfront at Fukagawa in Edo. The woman is adjusting the top of her kimono to protect against the chill of the early morning. In the lower-left is a blossoming fukujuso plant, emblematic of the New Year.

Eishosai Choki (fl. 1780s-1800s), Sunrise at New Year

A bijin (beautiful woman), presumably a courtesan, has risen early to greet the rising sun of the New Year at the waterfront at Fukagawa in Edo. The woman is adjusting the top of her kimono to protect against the chill of the early morning. In the lower-left is a blossoming fukujuso plant, emblematic of the New Year.

Shiro Kasamatsu, Sakunami Hot Springs, 1954.

Shin Hanga print, From Series: “Twelve Scenes of Famous Places,” circa 1930.

Eishosai Choki (fl. 1780s-1800s), Sunrise at New Year

A bijin (beautiful woman), presumably a courtesan, has risen early to greet the rising sun of the New Year at the waterfront at Fukagawa in Edo. The woman is adjusting the top of her kimono to protect against the chill of the early morning. In the lower-left is a blossoming fukujuso plant, emblematic of the New Year.

Takeuchi Seiho, Spring Snow, 1942.