Japan, 19^th century

Watercolor and ink on paper. Large horizontal emaki scroll depicting villagers armed with swords, sticks, and torches chasing a fox (kitsune) into a cave. The four separate leaves illustrate their journey inside the cave where they are greeted by a large Gashadokuro. As they rush and hide for cover, they are confronted by more yokai. The scroll with stag antler handles.

Scroll: SIZE 29.4 x 600 cm
Leaf (I): SIZE 29 x 80 cm
Leaf (II): SIZE 29 x 88 cm
Leaf (III): SIZE 29 x 73 cm
Leaf (IV): SIZE 29 x 50.5 cm

Condition: Each scroll in a superb state of preservation with fresh colors, the scrolls were evidently stored well. Some minor non-distracting surface wear, little soiling and creasing, few minuscule losses and tears.
Provenance: Family collection of either Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) or his son-in-law Louis (Loek) Borensztajn (1935-2021), Netherlands.

Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, dealer, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. He became one of the world’s leading collectors of Japanese art, starting at the age of 18, and continued to collect and work as an art dealer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s Felix Tikotin fled from the Nazis and hid his collection in the Netherlands. After the war, he decided that his collection should be taken to Israel, where in 1959 and with the help of Abba Hushi, who was the mayor of Haifa, The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established. The Museum's collection comprises more than 8,000 items of art and crafts.

Gashadokuro is a Yokai made up of the bones of soldiers or victims of famine whose bodies rotted and didn’t have a proper burial. These people die with anger and pain in their hearts. Unable to pass on, their souls gather to form a giant skeleton. As their bodies further decay, they grow angrier and more vengeful, holding a grudge against humanity for what they have. They wander fields in the night their teeth chatter and bones rattle making a “gachi gachi” sound, hence the name Gashadokuro. If they happen upon a human, they will silently sneak up behind them and catch their victim. Crushing them in their hand or biting their head off. Gashadokuro are too large and powerful to be defeated. As such they will wander the fields until the malice stored in their bodies fade away.

Yokai is a term in Japanese folklore that refers to supernatural monsters, spirits, or demons. They are often depicted as strange or bizarre creatures with unusual appearances or behaviors and can range from mischievous and playful to terrifying and malevolent.

Emaki, also called emakimono (or less commonly ekotoba), is an illustrated horizontal narration system of painted handscrolls that dates back to the Nara period in 8th century Japan, initially copying its much older Chinese counterparts. They combine calligraphy and illustrations and are painted on long rolls of paper or silk sometimes measuring several meters. The reader unwinds each scroll little by little from right to left, revealing the story as seen fit. Emakimono are therefore a narrative genre similar to the book, developing romantic or epic stories, or illustrating religious texts and legends. The format of the emakimono, long scrolls of limited height, requires the solving of all kinds of composition problems: it is first necessary to make the transitions between the different scenes that accompany the story, to choose a point of view that reflects the narration, and to create a rhythm that best expresses the feelings and emotions of the moment. In general, there are thus two main categories of emakimono: those which alternate the calligraphy and the image, each new painting illustrating the preceding text, and those which present continuous paintings, not interrupted by the text, where various technical measures allow the fluid transitions between the scenes. Today, emakimono offer a unique historical glimpse into the life and customs of Japanese people, of all social classes and all ages, during the early part of medieval times.

Auction comparison:
Compare the skeleton to a print by Kuniyoshi at Bonhams, Japanese and Korean Art, 23 March 2022, New York, lot 540 (sold for 150,312 USD).