Kyōsai's animal circus: from the Israel Goldman Collection

Abstract

"The Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) delighted in the depiction of animals - auspicious crows, frogs in the schoolroom, rats on trapezes, catfish in procession, elephants performing tricks - and frequently used them as proxies for political figures of the day, to avoid censorship. This enchanting book reveals a cavalcade of Kyosai's creatures from the Israel Goldman Collection, with an introduction to the artist and his menagerie by Koto Sadamura, a leading authority on Kyosai."--

Contents

Kyōsai's fantastic beasts and where they come from -- Kyōsai's signature animals: crows and frogs -- Familiar creatures -- Fortune-bringers and divine beasts -- Tricksters, mischievous animals and monsters -- Visitors from abroad and Aesop's animals.