Courtesan with Oni (Okimono)

The artwork is a carved ivory okimono depicting a woman dressed in an intricately patterned kimono, standing upright and holding a thin staff or reed. At her feet, a small, hunched oni with protruding horns, wide, staring eyes, and a snarling expression sits, his right hand gripping the edge of her robe while his left hand gestures towards her face. The figures are rendered in a warm, cream-colored ivory with fine, incised details defining the texture of the kimono’s textile patterns and the demonic features of the oni.

This piece exemplifies the Japanese Meiji-period fascination with genre-scenes that juxtapose traditional elegance with the uncanny folk iconography of yōkai, common in the okimono tradition.