When the ghost of the great beauty and poet ono no komachi asks a wandering priest (right) to pray for her soul, she is held back by the ghost of a former suitor, shii no shosho. He had sacrificed his life in a vain effort to prove his love and cannot bear to have her leave him again. Komachi: would you still have me suffer
the tortures of hell?
shosho: even when we suffered them together
the pains were grievous,
but if you alone attain
the way of the buddha
you will add to the weight i bear
yet another cloak of sorrow,
piling grief on grief. Date: circa 1899 (Meiji). Place of creation: Tokyo, Japan. Dimensions: height: 25 cm (9.8 in); width: 37.2 cm (14.6 in). Medium: pigments on mulberry paper. Collection: Walters Art Museum. Matsuke Heikichi - Nogaku zue - Walters 95248
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