Okimono "Shoki and the Oni Demons"

​​The sculptural composition depicts Shoki and two Oni demons. Shoki is depicted with bulging eyes and a thick beard. He is dressed as an official in a cap with gold petals tied on the back, a luxurious dressing gown decorated with mandarin ornaments and mons – symbols of prosperity in peonies, boots with a floral pattern and a belt with gold overlays. According to legend, Shoki is a demon conqueror and is most often represented in Japanese art in a warrior's pose with an outstretched sword. But in this composition, Shoki is depicted as a comic hero, crawling away from two hideous humanoid demons Oni, each with four fingers and toes, two horns on their heads, long curly hair, and a grinning face. Behind Shoki stands a menacing demon with a stick in his hand. He is dressed in bracelets on his arms and legs and a short skirt with an ornament of meihua plum flowers. The second demon, dressed in a shirt decorated with chrysanthemums and bracelets on his arms and legs, is depicted squatting, laughing and pointing at Shoki with the finger of his right hand.

Signature 宮尾造 Miyao Eisuke

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery