The Spectre 

This is a woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada, called The Spectre. It presents us with a pale, dishevelled figure emerging from a dark, indistinct background, surrounded by spectral flames. The image draws upon the rich tradition of Japanese ghost stories, or kaidan. During the Edo period, from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, these tales gained popularity through Kabuki theatre and printed books. This print, and others like it, catered to a public fascinated by the supernatural. Kunisada, as a leading artist of his time, skillfully captured the visual vocabulary of these stories, using specific colors and motifs to evoke fear and suspense. Woodblock prints had a central role in shaping cultural and social values, representing a major entertainment industry with its own institutions. Studying such images today means delving into the visual culture of the Edo period, using theatre programs, popular literature and sociological studies to explore the print's social context. The meaning of art changes according to its situation within social and institutional settings.