One Hundred Aspects of the Moon

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O-bon is a joyous summer festival held annually on a full moon of the seventh lunar month to honor the spirits of family ancestors. A highlight of the celebration is a group dance, or bon odori, in which young and old don light, informal cotton kimonos, called yukata, and dance up and down the streets and sing late into the night.

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The 9^th century poet Ono no Komachi was once renowned for her beauty, position, and wealth. Her brilliance earned her a place as the only woman in the group Rokkasen, or “Six Poets.” However, her arrogance eventually led to her downfall. Wandering destitute as an old woman, Komachi rests upon a fallen grave marker under a waning moon and reflects on the misguided passions of her life.

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The great military commander Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) led his troops on a fifty-mile march to Shizu Peak outside Kyoto. Taking out his famous conch shell, Hideyoshi trumpets the signal to attack as the dawn moon sets behind the hill. The Battle of Shizugatake was a crucial victory for Hideyoshi’s army.

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In Japan, folk beliefs are rich with tales of foxes that have the magical power to disguise themselves as humans. In this illustration based on a kyōgen, a popular form of comic theatrical interlude, a fox has disguised itself as an old priest in order to persuade the priest’s nephew, a hunter, to stop trapping foxes. In this print, we see the fox in the midst of changing back into its original form.

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The old woman creeping around the corner is the subject of a popular story and several dramas, all of which preyed on the fears of many Japanese. According to one version, the woman was the demented mistress of an old house on an isolated moor. She served a lord who had a strange disease for which the only cure was human blood. The woman obtained his medicine by killing travelers who stayed at her house, typically with a huge kitchen knife.

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In a famous legend retold in both theater and dance, the courtier Fujiwara no Yasumasa (958-1036) was strolling home through the moors one evening playing his flute. A bandit named Hakamadare Yasusake crept up from behind intent on killing him for his fine robes. In moments, however, Hakamadare was mesmerized by the beautiful music and was unable to carry out the attack.

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A courtesan leans out the veranda of a luxurious teahouse and gazes at the shadows cast by the moon. The red maple leaves on the painted screen and the aboveground brazier, used in tea ceremony, indicate that the scene takes place in early autumn. This print illustrates the above haiku by the renowned poet Takarai Kikaku (1661-1707), who was known to spend a great deal of time in the pleasure quarters.