2-731-967 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ibaraki, c. 1840. In 1840 Shibata Zeshin was commissioned by an association of sugar wholesalers to paint an ema, a votive tablet, to be dedicated to the Shinto shrine Oji Inari in the city of Edo (now Tokyo). This sketch is thought to be a preparatory drawing for the tablet. It depicts the demon Ibaraki, who resided in the Rashomon Gate, the southern gate of Heian-kyo (now Kyoto), rescuing its arm from the warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021). Yorimitsu had ordered it cut off by Watanabe no Tsuna (953-1025). Having disguised itself as Yorimitsu’s aunt to gain access to its severed limb, Ibaraki is in the midst of transforming back into demon form.