Twee toneelscènes, een met een man en een vrouw en een met een man en een vossenvrouw 1800 - 1900

Katsushika Hokusai created these two theatre scenes in ink on paper, sometime before his death in 1849. In the top scene, a man on his knees reaches out with a rope to a woman. In the scene below, a fox-woman towers over another woman, who is holding a knife. Hokusai lived in a Japan that was deeply feudal, with rigid social hierarchies. Woodblock prints, like this one, offered a form of cultural expression accessible to a wider audience. Kabuki theatre, which these scenes depict, was hugely popular, often exploring themes of social duty, love, and revenge. These prints offer a glimpse into the complex representation of women in Japanese society. The woman in the top scene seems aloof or detached, while the lower scene introduces us to the figure of the fox-woman, a common figure in folklore who often embodies both beauty and danger. Hokusai uses the economy of line to convey the emotional tension of these scenes. In doing so, he invites us to consider the stories, both told and untold, that shape our understanding of gender and power.