KITAGAWA UTAMARO (1754-1806)

A humorous parody of the famous killing of the chimeric monster Nue by Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106-1180). The warrior’s heroic exploit is juxtaposed with a quotidian interior scene of a young boy capturing a rat with a box on a lacquer tray with bait. A courtesan holds up a light beside the boy echoing the composition of the cartouche.

The same print is in the collection of the Musem of Fine Arts, Boston, accession no. 18.300, go to:
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/230690/parody-of-the-killing-of-the-nue-from-the-series-picture-si