Kunichika - Dakki the Strangler

Toyohara Kunichika

Zen-aku sanjūroku bijin. 善悪三拾六美人

Dakki the Strangler' from the series "Thirty-six Good and Evil Beauties"

Dakki is one of the most well-known fox spirits of the Far East mythology. Dakki was obliged to marry the cruel tyrant Teishin. A nine-tailed fox spirit serving the goddess Joka, who had been offended by Teishin, went into her and took possession of her body. The spirit, under the appearance of Dakki, and her new husband, planned cruel plots and invented many tortures. 

Amy Reigle Newland devoted a whole paragraph on page 18 to the significance of this series, i.e., Zen-aku sanjūroku bijin, at the beginning of her book on Kunichika: "Thirty-six good and evil beauties (Zen-aku sanjūroku bijin)... of 1876 is arguably one of Kunichika's most accomplished forays into bijinga. The quality of printing is superb. His treatment of the subject is fluid, the women portrayed energetic, wild, their poses at times reminiscent of those encountered in the work of earlier artists like Kuniyoshi and Kunisada, and in his own actor prints... Each sheet in Thirty-six good and evil beauties illustrates a famous woman from distant or more recent history with an explanatory cartouche above by a contemporary writer."

Condition: Margins as shown, great color, not backed, some creases that can be removed.

Date: 1876